The Story of Tsukiko Akane, Tiger Child
by LittleReporterGirl
Summary: Not much good with summaries but i promise it will be good! Here is a quote anyway... "Your choice is really quite simple. You're curious and I hold the answers to all your questions and I will never withhold that information. I can make you a princess, give you anything you want. You'll have power beyond your wildest dreams…"
1. Chapter 1 the Mountain's Head

**Author's Note: **Hey everybody…I found this old Naruto fanfic that I wrote some five or six years ago. I read through it (it took about two weeks since I am an all-grown-up college student now lol) and decided it was actually really good and should be shared with the world of Naruto. So, be sure and let me know what you think! I will try and update regularly but you may not see much of me til after Christmas. But I will get several chapters up today so you will stay occupied in my absence. Enjoy!

~LilReporterGirl

**PART 1 (The Beginning)**

Chapter 1 (The Mountain's Head)

Annoyed, I pushed my wispy, pale-blonde hair back behind my ears as I climbed. I would have cut all my hair off, but I never got around to it. I was climbing the face of Mt. Hokage in the Hidden leaf Village, Konohagakure. It was one of my favorite spots to go and to think. With the help of my Chakra I reached the top of the 1st Hokage's head that was carved into the mountainside. The Hokage is the leader of our village. Those whose faces were on the mountain were no longer living. Mt. Hokage made an interesting place to sit and watch the people in the village, swarming around like little bugs as they went on throughout their daily lives, unaware that they were being watched by a fifteen-year-old Chunin.

True, I should probably be out on a mission like most of the other Chunin, but today was one of those days that the hokage refused to acknowledge my existence. Her name was Lady Tsunade and I knew that she did not like me. Most of my assignments came from her, supposedly, through Kakashi Hatake, one of the many sensei in the village of Konohagakure. Whenever I tried to see Lady Tsunade, which was very rarely, her assistant would disappear into The Hokage's office only to return moments later saying that Lady Tsunade was either busy or not there. It was obvious she didn't want anything to do with me and I couldn't understand why. I'd only seen her a few times and always from a distance. I'd never even spoken to the woman!

But that was not what I had climbed the mountain to think about. It had been almost five years since Orochimaru had killed my parents. I didn't know exactly how it had happened or why. All I knew was that it must have had something to do with me because nobody wanted to talk to me about it.

"Don't worry about it, Tsukiko," they would say to me, "It didn't have anything to do with you."

Which obviously made me think it did. Adults didn't say things like that unless they were lying. Adults were always lying, trying to cover things up, and I always had my ways of finding out the truth.

I'm not exactly like normal ninja. I can sometimes see things before they happen or see things that have already happened. True, there are many ninja who can predict their opponent's moves, but this isn't like that. I see actual scenarios of things and people, sometimes they're people I know and sometimes I don't know them. My visions came in handy sometimes, like when I knew Sunagakure was going to attack. Not that anyone believed me before hand. They had dismissed it as just nightmares when I awoke from my dream vision. When the sand-ninja attacked, however, they began to believe me. All except the hokage. She still wouldn't listen to a word I said and had to be told by other people before she paid any attention at all. By then a battle was often on her own doorstep.

I had never before had a vision about my parents. That is why I had climbed onto the mountain early this morning- because last night I had dreamt about them.

_ Their names were Yuki and Kasumi and I had seen them in a dark room, sleeping peacefully at first. I knew that in the next room my ten-year-old self lay sleeping as well. Suddenly there was a loud crash and Yuki and Kasumi both sat up instantly. They ran into the next room to see my sleeping form in the hands of a man wearing a black cloak. Only his golden eyes shone in the darkness. My mother launched herself at my attacker while my father, Kasumi, grabbed the kunai out of my bag on the floor. Orochimaru deflected Yuki with a simple shove of his fist and deflected the kunai thrown by Kasumi using his own Chakra energy._

_ There was a mad scramble as my parents tried to take me back from Orochimaru and in the end they both lay dead on the floor. By then I had awakened and was screaming. I made enough noise to be heard by the neighbors, but by the time they got there Orochimaru was gone and I was alone, sitting in the middle of the floor near the bodies of Yuki and Kasumi. One of the neighbors, Kazuko, stared at me with wide eyes before turning to face the Konoha police force that had come to help._

"_Alert the Hokage and assemble the ANBU Black Opps. Tell them Orochimaru is in the village," Kazuko said to them. They nodded and hurried to obey._

I wondered how Kazuko had known Orochimaru had done it. Whenever I questioned him about it he claimed he had seen Orochimaru run off. Not a chance. I hadn't even seen Orochimaru leave and I had been watching it all happen in my vision. Strange, also, that I had no recollection of any of that happening. I didn't remember anything until the next day when I awoke to find myself in the hospital. That was when Kakashi-sensei told me what had happened…

Since then I had been living with Kakashi-sensei and he took care of me like a daughter, though he was rarely home. I had my own room and pretty much free-range when it came to doing whatever I wanted. I had no curfew to be home by. I could stay out all night if I wished and Kakashi didn't ask questions.

My thoughts were interrupted by a rustling of branches behind me and I whirled around with a kunai in my hand, expecting an attack, but saw it was only Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, hyperactive ninja who was three years younger than me. He was annoying sometimes, but he was always nice and helpful.

"Hey, Kiko, what're you doing up here?" He asked with a grin. Kiko was what most everyone called me, except Kakashi who insisted on calling me Tsukiko.

"Just thinking. Hoping to get some peace and quiet for once," I said with a faint smile.

"Oh."

"What're you doing?"

"I was bored," He said with a grin, "Neji, Sakura, and I just got back from a mission and now there's nothing to do."

"Oh. How about some training?" I asked him.

"Alright!"

One thing about Naruto is that in a way he is like me. He has two different types of Chakra energy. His normal, blue Chakra, and the red Chakra that he claimed came from the nine-tailed-fox demon that had been sealed inside of him when he was a baby. It startled me when he first told me about this when I was 13 years old. I too, had often felt the presence of a red Chakra within me, though I never said anything. If what Naruto had said was true then I had a demon sealed away inside of me as well, but I didn't tell anyone. I did research, learning all I could about the 9 biju, which are tailed demons, and the Jinchuriki, who were the human hosts in which the demons resided.

Naruto and I started our false battle immediately. He took a stance and performed his shadow clone jutsu, which created multiple copies of himself. As if one Naruto wasn't bad enough. All four of the clones leapt at me and I crouched into a ball and at the exact moment they hit me I released Chakra energy from all 64 Chakra points in my body, throwing the clones backwards and disintegrating them. As soon as the clones were gone I leapt into the air as the real Naruto burst forth out of the ground. I landed gracefully on my feet a safe distance away.

"Did you really think that would work on me, Naruto?" I asked with a laugh, "I watched your battle against Neji during the Chunin exams, remember?"

"Oh yeah? Try this!" He exclaimed. He quickly cloned himself and using his clone for support, began to roll a ball of Chakra energy known as Rasengan. I could have easily dodged it, but instead as he threw it at me I held up my hand and created a shield with the Chakra emitted from the Chakra points in my arms. The Rasengan ball struck the shield with a force that would have knocked a weaker ninja backwards, before reflecting back and striking the true Naruto dead in the stomach.

I walked over to where he lay on the ground, the breath knocked out of him, and I stood over him and smiled.

"This battle…is over," I said, extending a hand to help him up.


	2. Chapter 2 The Summoning Scroll

**Chapter 2 **_**(Summoning Scroll)**_

Bored after our battle on the 1st Hokage's head Naruto and I made our way back to the village.

"Man, I'm starving! Let's go get somethin to eat!" Naruto said to me.

"What is it with you and food, Naruto?" I asked with a sigh, "Alright. Let's go to the Ramen Bar."

I followed Naruto into the Ramen Bar, but I didn't eat because I wasn't hungry. Naruto was chowing down on his third bowl of ramen when in walked two of our friends, a large boy named Choji and his lazy pal Shikamaru.

"Hey Naruto. Hey Kiko," Shikamaru said, sitting down beside me.

"What's up, Shika?" I asked as Choji sat down beside Naruto and ordered a bowl of ramen.

"Naruto and I were supposed to do some training today, but I see he's too busy stuffing his face. What a drag," Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"Oh. I forgot. Sorry Shikamaru," Naruto said through a mouthful of ramen, "I'm too beat from my battle with Kiko."

"How about a game of Shogi or Go?" I offered Shikamaru.

"Alright, Kiko, you're on," Shika declared.

A few minutes later found us outside, sitting at one of the stone tables. I beat Shikamaru twice at Shogi and twice at Go before he admitted defeat.

"Man. Beaten by a girl! What a drag," He said with a sigh. Shikamaru thought everything was a drag. He was a player who based his entire game upon strategy and predicting his opponent's moves. By relying on pure, rash, instinct I had beaten him.

"Sorry, Shikamaru, that's how it goes," I said with a shrug, smiling at him.

When the sun started to disappear I made my way back to my house. Kakashi wasn't home, but I cooked chicken and left some out for him anyway. Just as I suspected he came home a few minutes later and found the food on the table.

"Hey Tsukiko. How was your day?" Kakashi asked me as he lowered his mask to eat. I was perhaps one of the few who had ever seen his face.

"Boring, mostly. I beat Shikamaru at a few games of Shogi and Go," I said with a shrug.

"Really? Asuma-sensei tells me he's really good at those games. He's never even beaten Asuma! How did you defeat him?" He asked interestedly.

"The same way I do everything else- through a series of rash actions ruled by instinct."

"That doesn't work for a lot of ninja, but it definitely works for you. I heard you beat Naruto in a fake-battle," Kakashi said.

"No big deal," I said with another shrug.

"It's impressive that you can emit Chakra from all 64 points in your body and still be able to control it," He said, impressed.

"It's no big deal," I repeated, insistent.

"If you say so…but I think Neji Hyuuga would be a good match for you."

Neji Hyuuga had the ability to block all 64 Chakra points by striking them all at once, sometimes more than once. I had seen him do it to Naruto during the Chunin exams, but when Naruto used the Chakra provided by the Nine-tailed Demon Fox, the Chakra points became unblocked and Naruto kicked Neji's butt.

"Maybe," I said to Kakashi, "I'm going to bed."

I was actually looking forward to sleeping, for once, in the hope that I might have another dream about my parents. I rarely have two dreams in a row without them being related to one another, so I was extremely hopeful. As soon as I closed my eyes, the vision began, but it was not about Yuki and Kasumi…

_A cloaked figure was running through the woods at nighttime. I didn't know who he was and he carried a scroll in his left hand. He was running fast by gathering the Chakra in his feet so I knew immediately that he was a ninja, though of what ranking I was uncertain. My vision followed him until he stopped. He had come to a waterfall. He knelt down on the ground and pulled out a kunai, which he plunged into a rock that was perfectly round, except for the slit in it that the kunai obviously fitted into. Suddenly, the waterfall stopped flowing, revealing a small hole in the face of the rock beneath it. The cloaked man put the scroll into the secret hole and then took his kunai from the rock and the waterfall started flowing again. _

"_There," Said the man in an oddly chilling voice, "It should be safe there until she finds it…"_

I awoke with a start and knew that I must go to that waterfall. It was dark outside, as the hour had grown late- past midnight. I listened intently to the house around me and heard Kakashi's steady breathing from the next room. He was asleep. I slipped out of bed quietly and opened my window slowly, then, I climbed out. I was still wearing my day clothes of a black skirt and black long-sleeved shirt so I didn't feel out of place. I was barefoot, but it didn't matter as I left the village and made my way into the forest, taking the same path the man had taken in my dream.

It wasn't long before I came to the waterfall from my dream. I hastily shoved my kunai into the rock I'd seen and I was more that delighted when the waterfall ceased to flow. I walked over cautiously and peered into the hole. The scroll was still there! Whoever the man had wanted to find the scroll had not found it. By the light of the moon I unfolded it and read it. I knew what it was immediately- a summoning scroll! A select few ninja were able to summon creatures to do their bidding. Naruto and Master Jiraiya could both summon toads, Kakashi-sensei could summon his ninja dogs, and Lady Tsunade could summon a giant slug, so I'd heard. This particular scroll was binding with snakes. I didn't really have a problem with snakes and I was ready to sign the scroll. Who knew when I'd get another chance? Most ninja couldn't summon animals because they didn't possess enough Chakra energy to do it…but if my suspicions were right, and I _did _have one of the tailed demons inside of me, then this would be just the way to get this beast to lend me its Chakra!

The scroll had the names of three ninja, that I did not bother to read, and they had pressed their fingerprints beneath their names, all in blood. Without hesitating I carefully bit the pointer finger of my left hand and signed my name.

"Tsukiko Akane," I murmured aloud as I finished. I pressed each of my fingers to the one I had bitten and then pressed all five to the scroll. I checked the particular hand seals indicated that I would need to summon. There was only one, besides the finishing seal, that I did not know. It was the symbol for serpent and merely required one to lace their fingers together before completing the hand seals.

I took my stance and gathered all the Chakra, I alone, possessed. I formed the hand seals and pressed my left palm to the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!" I said loudly. A moment later there was a flash and before me lay one of the most lethal-looking creatures I had ever seen in my life!


	3. Chapter 3 the Snake

**Chapter 3 **_**(The Snake)**_

It was a snake, of course, and it was four feet long and had black scales that shimmered in the moonlight. I was in complete awe.

"Finally, masssster, I wondered when I-" The snake began to talk, but stopped and looked at me with unblinking, yellow eyes.

"You are not my masssster," It hissed at me.

"I…you can talk?" I asked, feeling lightheaded.

"Of courssse I can talk, you sssily girl! Who are you?" He demanded.

"Tsukiko Akane," I replied automatically. The snake noticed the scroll and slithered over to it and he appeared to be reading it!

"I sssee. You Jussst thought you'd add your name to sssome random ssscroll you found, eh, girl?" He asked, still observing me with his yellow eyes.

"N-no. I saw this place in a dream. I saw a man leave the scroll here for someone to find, but apparently no one ever found it," I said quietly.

"You found it," Said the snake in a voice that chilled my bones. I said nothing in response.

"What d'you mean you sssaw it in a dream?" He asked finally.

"I can do that, sometimes. See the future…or the past…" I said to him, "I think it may have something to do with the biju."

"Aha! Ssso…you have one of the tailed demons, do you?" The snake said, pleased. I didn't know why I had told him that so I shrugged it off.

"I think so. Sometimes I feel the presence of another Chakra besides my own. It is exactly as my friend Naruto described it to me and he has the nine-tailed-fox inside of him. If I have a demon, I don't know what it is. I was hoping to coax this beast into lending me some of its Chakra by attempting to summon something," I explained.

"And you sssummoned me. The wissse and the beautiful Saromi?" He asked me. I noticed that he did not extend the 's' when pronouncing his own name.

"With all due respect, Saromi, you are what I was granted by my Chakra," I said to him.

"I sssee. Well, I think we can work out a deal, Tsukiko Akane. You sssee I was growing bored, not being sssummoned asss often asss I used to, Ssso I will do your childish bidding in return for you letting me out to basssk in the sssunlight and to catch my own prey. Do we have an agreement?" Saromi hissed, still staring at me with his yellow eyes.

"Yes. We have an agreement," I said to him.

The sun was beginning to rise as I went back to the house. I'd promised Saromi I would summon him again as soon as I explained it to Kakashi. He was sitting in the living room, reading one of those novels he was always reading, when I walked in. He glanced up, but didn't say anything until I walked over to him and handed him the Summoning Scroll.

"What's this?" He asked, setting his book aside.

"A Summoning Scroll. I can summon snakes now," I said quietly. I explained about the dream I had and about finding the scroll behind the waterfall. I then commenced to tell him about Saromi and the deal we had made.

"You never even stopped to consider this, did you? Did you even _read _the scroll before you signed your name in blood?" He asked exasperatedly.

"Of course I read it," I said indignantly, "Most of it…"

I summoned Saromi as soon as Kakashi was done being annoyed at me and wanted to see. Saromi stretched out across the floor and raised his head to look at Kakashi with those yellow eyes and then at me.

"I sssee you kept to your word, Tsukiko Akane," He said to me.

"I did. You are more than free to go outside and slither around or whatever it is you want to do," I said to him. He nodded his head and flicked his tongue out at me, but he remained in the house.

"I have a meeting with the Hokage," Kakashi said suddenly, "I'll see you later, okay Tsukiko?"

"Sure," I said as he walked out of the door. A moment later Saromi turned to look at me.

"He was lying to you. He did not have a scheduled meeting with the hokage," the snake said. I didn't doubt Saromi for a minute and I was hurt that Kakashi would lie to me. So I followed him, hiding in the shadows and walking as silently as possible, and Saromi followed me. Kakashi _did _go into the Hokage's office and we listened to what was said. Shizune, Lady Tsunade's assistant, was trying to tell him the same bull crap story about Lady Tsunade being too busy right now.

"This is important, Shizune, I must speak with her now!" Kakashi insisted.

"Well…perhaps for a moment…" Shizune said and then she let Kakashi into the Hokage's office.

"Quickly, Saromi, you must go and hear what is being said. Don't let yourself be seen," I ordered him. The snake slithered into the building, past Shizune's desk, and lay himself against the wall so that he looked like a piece of trimming, from a distance. A few minutes later he slithered back outside to me.

"I didn't hear much, but I know that your grey-haired friend-" He began.

"Kakashi," I said quickly.

"Yesss, Kakashi, told the woman that you had learned to sssummon sssnakes. Ssshe gasssped and muttered sssomething too low for me to hear. Then Kakashi sssaid 'ssshe found the ssscroll. Ssshe'd seen it in one of her dream-visionsss.' then they both continued to ssspeak in a voice too low for me to hear, but it sssounded as if they were talking about a mission of sssome sssort," Saromi said to me.

"Why would Kakashi be telling the Hokage about me?" I wondered aloud.

"I don't know. I'm just the messenger," Saromi replied.

"Right. C'mon, let's go up to the mountain where I can think. Maybe I can do some training while you bask in the sunlight," I said finally.

We made our way to the top of the 1st Hokage's head and when we got there Saromi stretched out on the rock to let the sunlight warm himself. I didn't really feel like just sitting around so I began to practice using larger amounts of Chakra from the different points in my body. Saromi watched me for a while, before suggesting something.

"I knew sssomeone once who usssed their Chakra energy to form wingsss that could fly. You ssshould try that," He suggested quietly.

I tried this for a few hours, but it was difficult because I could not see behind me. All I succeeded in was wasting a bunch of Chakra by shooting it out of my back. I was interrupted in my training when Saromi lifted his head suddenly.

"Sssomeone is coming," He hissed quietly, "Get down."

I ducked behind the rock Saromi was laying on and listened intently, but I didn't hear anything at all.

"You can come on out now, Tsukiko, I know you're hiding," Said a familiar voice. I poked my head out behind the rock and saw it was Pakkun, Kakashi's ninja dog.

"Pakkun! How did you find me?" I asked, crouching down to speak to the ninja dog.

"I smelled you out of course. Bit easier than usual considering your friend their has a very distinct scent," Pakkun said, pointing his paw at Saromi. Saromi slithered down off the rock and over to where Pakkun sat. Pakkun backed away.

"Who are you, ssstranger?" Saromi hissed at him.

"My name's Pakkun. I serve Kakashi Hatake. I know about you, Saromi. I am here for Tsukiko," The dog replied.

"What do you want with her?" Demanded the snake.

"It's not me that wants her, it's Kakashi," Pakkun said.

"What does he want me for?" I asked Pakkun.

"Something about he's arranged a battle for you," Replied the dog, "And he wants to see you at the training field, pronto."


	4. Chapter 4 The Battle and the Tiger

**Chapter 4 **_**(The Battle and the Tiger)**_

I followed Pakkun back to the training field after telling Saromi he could stay there until he was summoned. Kakashi Hatake was waiting for me and with him stood two people I knew to be Neji Hyuuga and Guy-sensei.

"What's up, Kakashi?" I asked as I approached them.

"Well, Tsukiko, Guy and I have arranged for you and Neji Hyuuga to have a battle. We're both curious to see who will come out on top, so to speak," Kakashi said with a smile.

"No rules. This is just for fun, of course, so there is no shame in backing out or admitting defeat. The battle goes on until one admits defeat or Kakashi and I decide that it is enough," Guy-sensei said. I saw Neji smile at me wryly from behind his sensei.

"Are you ready?" He asked me lightly.

"I suppose so," I said with a sigh. I didn't really want to battle Neji and I knew I was a little low on Chakra after my training, but I was going to do it anyway. We made our way out onto the training field and faced each other.

Neji was using his Byakugan, an ability that let him see the flow of Chakra in my body. He must have seen that I was low on Chakra because he smiled confidently.

"This will be an easy battle," He said certainly.

"That's what you think," I said coolly.

"Gentle Fist!" Neji said as he launched an attack at me. I leapt aside quickly and doubled around, striking him in the back with my own fist. He whirled around with a speed that surprised even me and he managed to strike me hard across the chest. I staggered backwards and leapt quickly out of range. I was used to fighting close combat and knew that it was an advantage for him as well. I'd seen many of his previous battles so I knew that throwing shuriken or kunai would be useless because he could block them by spinning and emitting Chakra from his hands. He leapt at me, preparing for another blow, and as he came closer I emitted Chakra from my hands forming a shield, blocking his attack and sending him flying in the opposite direction. He picked himself off the ground and stared at me in amazement.

"You should not be able to do that! Your Chakra control is…amazing!" He exclaimed.

"You ain't seen nothing yet, Neji," I said with a wicked grin.

"No problem, I can block your Chakra points," He said smoothly. He prepared his Eight Trigrams 64 Palms attack and I simply smiled. I had watched him practicing before and I knew that he would strike two Chakra points, then four, then eight, then sixteen…doubling until he had successfully blocked all 64 Chakra points. As he moved to strike the first two I emitted Chakra from them, blocking his attack, and then from the next two, then the next six, until I had successfully blocked all of his attacks and had Chakra flowing from all of my Chakra points. He was shocked.

"You can't block my Chakra points, Neji. I blocked your attacks and I can still do this," I said as I gathered a large amount of Chakra, formed a ball, and flung it at him. It his him square in the chest, flinging him backwards. I now had little to no Chakra left and when he went to counter-attack I was unable to defend myself and was thrown hard into the ground by his Gentle Fist technique.

I was barely conscious. I was aware that he was approaching me in the outside world, but I was trapped in my mind at the moment. I imagined I saw a large cage with silver bars and some sort of seal on it in crude writing.

"_Who's that approaching?" _Said a silky smooth voice from inside the cage. I inched my way closer, peering inside cautiously. Something was crouched in the corner of the cage. Something I knew immediately, that was dangerous.

"What are you?" I demanded.

"_Me? Why I am nothing more or less than the five-tailed tiger demon. You should know this if you dare approach me,"_ She replied in a voice that sounded like purring. I guess I immediately assumed the demon was a she. It sounded like a girl, but I suppose it could have been male.

"So I do have a Biju inside of me!" I exclaimed aloud.

"_You? You are my human host? I see…Then I suppose if you are visiting me you need some of my Chakra, yes?" _She asked me. She walked closer to the bars of the cage and though I could barely make out her cat-like form, her green eyes shone through the darkness.

"That'd be nice, you know, since I let you live inside of me," I said coolly.

"Very well. Here you go," she said smoothly. A Chakra that was more orange than red, flowed from between the bars of the cage and surrounded me. I felt myself filled with energy and incomprehensible power.

Back in the real world no time had passed and as Neji approached to see if I was okay, I leapt out of the hole in the ground that had been made. The orange Chakra flowed inside of me and outside of me and I couldn't control it.

"It's just like Naruto!" I heard Neji exclaim. Kakashi and Guy saw it, too, and I imagine they both knew what it was. _How could they have known and not told you, _Said a voice in my head that sounded suspiciously like the tiger. I was filled with rage and a desire to hurt and do bad, but deep inside of me I knew this was wrong. I tried to stop as my hand raised, sheathed in Chakra so that it resembled a tiger's paw, down to the long lethal claws that were made out of Chakra. Neji was standing before me, in an attack position he leapt at me, preparing his Gentle Fist attack but I easily leapt out of the way and knocked him aside leaving four deep scratches in his back.

"Tsukiko! No! Do not do this!" Called a voice. It was Kakashi and he was running towards me on the field, despite the obvious danger. The cat forced my gaze to lock on him. NO! I screamed inside my head, DO NOT DO THIS! DO NOT HURT HIM! BACK, TIGER, NO!

I felt the beast recoil and take it's Chakra along with all the energy it had given me so that I felt drained. I lay on the ground, feeling empty and bruised. Neji was on the ground and Guy rushed over to him. Kakashi walked over to me.

"Tsukiko, are you alright?" He asked, falling to his knees beside me. I was furious. He _had _known about the demon, I _know _he had known. I was furious and I was livid, but I was still myself. I got to my feet shakily, my face contorted with anger, and I ran. I ran away from him, from Neji, from Guy, and from that damned Tiger Demon.

I didn't go back to Mt. Hokage because I knew they would have no trouble finding me there. I went instead to the place where my parents were buried. It was a grassy hill where beautiful flowers grew. I sat down between the two gravestones, exhausted. I suppose I fell asleep there because when I opened my eyes the sun was a little lower in the sky and my energy had been mostly restored. I knew that I had done wrong. I had probably almost killed Neji or Kakashi Hatake. What would my parents have thought? I ran my fingers over the names carved in the stone and tears stung my eyes. I missed them. I could recall picnics and games of Shogi in the late afternoons. Yuki would always cook extravagant meals for celebrations like birthdays.

I felt the tears fall from my auburn-colored eyes and roll down my pale cheeks. I couldn't remember the last time I cried and doing so made me feel weak and pitiful.

"You miss them don't you?" Said a voice from behind me. I leapt to my feet, whirled around, and found myself face-to-face with the person I least expected to see…Lady Tsunade!


	5. Chapter 5 The Hokage

**Chapter 5 **_**(The Hokage)**_

"What are you doing here?" I demanded through clenched teeth. She was the last person I wanted to see right now.

"It's okay to miss them," She continued, ignoring my question, "and it's okay to cry about it."

"I'm not crying!" I growled venomously, "And if I am, it's not because I am sad…it's because I am _proud!_"

She made a move as if to place a comforting hand on my shoulder, which was so obviously the wrong thing to do. As soon as she touched me I flared Chakra from all of my Chakra points, forcing her backwards.

"Do NOT touch me!" I hissed at her. Her brown eyes narrowed and I found myself unable to move. She was using some sort of Paralysis Jutsu on me.

"How _dare _you use your jutsu on me! Let me go!" I growled.

"Not until you let me say what I have to say! I came here because I thought you deserved an explanation, but if you want to fight me…" She said calmly.

"An explanation? About what- the fact that I have a demon inside of me? I kinda figured that out for myself! Are you going to tell me why and how, or are you going to lie to me like you and everyone else has _always _lied to me?" I demanded.

"Yes. I am going to tell you," She said, still calm.

I said nothing, shocked. I felt her release me and I sank to the ground.

"Orochimaru did this to you," Lady Tsunade said quietly, "When you were two years old he and the Akatsuki took you from Yuki's house and placed the five-tailed demon inside of you until such time as they would need it. We took you back from him and since then have kept you heavily protected, in fear that he would try and take you back. If Orochimaru took you back he would have the power of the five-tailed demon."

"Why me?" I demanded, "Why not some other 2-year-old? What makes me special?!"

"I can't answer that, Tsukiko," She replied sadly.

"Can't or won't?"

She said nothing, merely watched me with her brown eyes. We were in complete silence for a very long time and she came to sit beside me on the ground.

"So, I heard you have the ability to summon snakes now, huh?" She asked casually.

"Yeah," I said with a nod.

"I'd like to see."

I stood up and took a shaky breath, wondering why I was even complying to her request in the first place.

"Summoning Jutsu!" I said, forming the hand seals and then pressing my palm to the ground. Saromi appeared in a flash of smoke.

"I wasss thinking you'd forgotten about me," Saromi said to me. His eyes flashed suddenly on Lady Tsunade.

"What isss ssshe doing here?" The snake asked quietly.

"She wanted to see me summon you," I replied with a shrug.

"I am not sssome cheap trick, Tsukiko Akane," Saromi said threateningly.

"Of course not," I said soothingly, "She just wanted to see how powerful you are."

"Ah. Impresssed?" The snake asked Lady Tsunade, letting his scales flash in the setting sun. He also showed his fangs. Lady Tsunade, however, was not frightened.

"Oh, yes. You are a very fearsome creature. You must be the strongest of all the summoning snakes," She said to him, flattering him. Saromi hissed delightedly.

"Certainly I am not the ssstrongest, but I am the mossst clever, if I do sssay so myssself, and perhapsss one of the mossst beautiful," He replied.

"Yes, I can see that for myself," Lady Tsunade said, smiling.

"Tsukiko do you have anything for me to do or can I go back to my sssun bathing?" the snake asked, looking at me.

"Go ahead, Saromi," I said with a faint smile. We both watched as he slithered off towards the forest and I had a chance to think about what I had done.

"Is…Neji okay?" I asked Lady Tsunade.

"Of course. I healed his wounds myself. All he has now are faint scars on his back. They insisted he stay in the hospital overnight, but you can go and see him if you want," she said to me.

"I think…I think I'll do that," I said faintly. I walked off in the direction of the Hidden Leaf Village but Lady Tsunade did not follow. She remained standing by the gravestones, looking rather sad.

I was nervous about going to the hospital to visit Neji. I wasn't entirely sure if he blamed me for what had happened and I stopped by the flower shop to get him some flowers before going to visit him. The door to his room was halfway open and I could see him lying on the bed. He looked distant and he was frowning slightly, as if he were thinking hard about something.

"Neji?" I said softly, knocking on the door. He looked up, startled.

"Kiko. Come on in," he said, pulling himself up into a sitting position. He didn't have a shirt on and he was heavily bandaged. I walked in and sat in the chair beside his bed, feeling miserable.

"I'm sorry, Neji, I…I couldn't control it," I said, not looking up at him.

"I don't blame you, Kiko," he said soothingly, "Did you know? About the demon?"

I shook my head slightly.

"I had suspected, but…I had never tried to use it before. I didn't think it would be so…so…" I struggled for the right words but couldn't come up with anything.

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine," he said, smiling slightly, "Or I would be fine if I could get up from this bed."

"Why won't they let you go home? Lady Tsunade said that all that's left is scars," I said, frowning.

"You know doctors…always wanting to make sure everything's in tiptop shape before letting a person go. When did you talk to the Hokage? I always got the impression you did not like her."

"She came to find me. She explained about the five-tailed demon tiger that Orochimaru put in me when I was two years old," I said quietly.

"What has Orochimaru got to do with you?"

I told him everything that Lady Tsunade had said to me. He seemed simply stunned that no one had ever bothered to tell me this before.

"Now I am…well I'm rather afraid of trying to use it again. I don't want to hurt anyone again," I murmured, abashed. Neji frowned contemplatively for a moment, then smiled faintly.

"Tsukiko, I will help you train. I will help you better control your Chakra so that, if you need it, you can better control the Chakra of the five-tailed tiger-demon," he said decisively.

"R-really? You'd really do that, for me?" I stammered, blushing faintly.

"Of course. I don't want you to have anymore…accidents," he said, wincing slightly as he touched his back.

"Oh! I almost forgot- I brought you some flowers," I murmured, showing him the roses I'd gotten from the flower shop.

"You can put them in the vase on the dresser," he said, nodding to the dresser. I did as he asked and then turned back to him.

"So when will we start training?" I asked curiously.

"We would start this very second if they would let me leave…but I suppose tomorrow morning is soon enough," he said with a faint smile.

"Good. I need to rest as well, and recover my Chakra. I'm exhausted," I admitted.

"You go home and get some sleep," he said to me.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'll be fine. I'll see you first thing tomorrow morning."

"Okay. I'll meet you here," I said brightly, walking towards the door.

"See you tomorrow, Kiko."

"See ya, Neji."


	6. Chapter 6 Training

**Chapter 6 **_**(Training)**_

When I got home Kakashi was there waiting for me. He was sitting on the couch, reading one of his books, but he seemed tense and worried. He looked up when I entered and a wave of relief passed over him.

"There you are, Tsukiko. I was worried about you…I should not have made you battle Neji Hyuuga," he said quietly.

"No way! It was a good battle for both of us. I would have found out about the demon sooner or later," I replied.

"So, Lady Tsunade told you?"

"Mostly. I think there are some parts she left out…"

"I imagine she had a good reason for doing so," he said mysteriously, "What all did she tell you?"

I repeated everything Tsunade had told me, just like I had repeated it for Neji a short while ago.

"Good. I'm glad you've gotten that straightened out. I suppose we can start training you on how to better control the demon tomorrow afternoon-" Kakashi began.

"Actually Neji Hyuuga has agreed to teach me," I said softly.

"Oh?" he said, sounding surprised, "…but he's only a Chunin and he's younger than you."

"But Kakashi, you know as well as I do that he is more than qualified to be my teacher. He may be younger, but he is stronger and smarter. He is the prodigy of the Hyuuga Clan and he will be an excellent teacher," I said with a smile.

"Well, fine, then. I've got enough work to do with Sakura and Naruto anyway," he said, shrugging his shoulders. He returned to his book with a blatant look of indifference, but I wondered if he was not actually wounded that I'd rather have Neji for a teacher. I shrugged it off and went into my bedroom.

As I got ready for bed that night I noticed that my stuffed lion, Isamu, had fallen off the bed sometime during the previous night. I picked him up and wiped the dust off of him. I sat down on my bed, remembering how I had gotten Isamu.

_It was a week after the death of my parents and I was finally sent to live with Kakashi Hatake. He seemed anxious about having a child to care for, but he stepped up to the job with a large amount of bravery. Yuki had been his cousin, after all, and he was the only family I had left. When I arrived at his house he had a present for me, wrapped in a box with blue paper. I opened it to find a stuffed lion that was very soft and very good to hug._

"_This is Isamu. His name means courage and bravery. Whenever you feel as if you are having a difficult time and feel like giving up, hug Isamu close to you and borrow his strength," Kakashi had said to me._

I hugged Isamu to me and tears formed in the corners of my eyes. Kakashi really was a good person and I did think of him more as a father than anything. He took care of me and he always would. When I was sick, he was there to put a cool cloth on my head. When I injured myself training he was there to wrap my bandages. When I was feeling grumpy or sad Kakashi always found a way to make me smile. I smiled now and wiped the tears away before they had a chance to fall. I yawned sleepily and lay down on the bed with Isamu still held tightly in my arms. That night I had no bad dreams at all.

The next morning I awoke with the sun and got dressed quickly. I left Isamu sitting on my bed and grabbed my backpack from the corner as I hurried downstairs.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Kakashi asked from the kitchen where he was eating breakfast.

"Training with Neji," I replied, skidding to a halt beside the kitchen table.

"Oh," was all he said, looking hard at his porridge. I walked over promptly and threw my arms around him in an embrace.

"You'll always be my favorite teacher, Kakashi-sensei," I said with a smile.

"Alright, alright," he said, laughing slightly and pushing me away. He was blushing.

"Go on and have fun," he continued, motioning towards the door. I smiled once more before heading out the door.

I reached the hospital just as the nurse was escorting Neji outside. He looked exasperated as she insisted on telling him to go home and get some rest.

"You really need to take it easy after all that's happened. Those were some pretty serious injuries," the nurse lady said.

"Of course," he said smoothly, walking over towards me, "Are you ready, Kiko?"

I smiled at him and nodded my head. I waved at the nurse, who frowned disapprovingly.

"Let's go before she tries to commit me to the hospital again," he murmured quietly. I laughed as we walked off.

"So, where are we going to train?" I asked once we were out of earshot of the nurse.

"There is a place at the edge of the village where there are some old houses that are going to be torn down. They won't tear them down until next week, so it should be an okay place to train and we won't have to worry about anybody bothering us," he replied.

"what sort of training will we be doing?" I asked curiously as we approached the abandoned buildings.

"Well, I've never seen you train before. I want to know the limits of your strength. I want you to show me what you can do," he said slowly.

"I can summon snakes," I said brightly.

"Really?" he said, looking very interested, "let me see."

I formed the hand seals quickly and pressed my left palm to the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!" I said loudly. There was a flash of smoke and Saromi appeared. Neji took a cautious step backwards.

"Don't worry," I assured him, "Neji, this is Saromi. Saromi, this is Neji Hyuuga. He's going to help me train."

"Ah. I see," Saromi hissed quietly. He was observing Neji with unblinking eyes and Neji was watching him with a calm expression on his face.

"He wanted to know what all I could do, so I showed him how I could summon you," I continued to Saromi. Saromi flicked out his tongue and then sort-of nodded his head.

"Very well. Neji Hyuuga…you have a very good student at your command. Train her wisely," Saromi said to Neji. Neji inclined his head slightly and then Saromi slithered away.

"That is a very impressive skill, Kiko. Where did you learn that?" Neji asked me once Saromi had left.

"I found a scroll…well, I saw a scroll in my dream…"

I proceeded to tell him all that had occurred. He listened patiently, without interrupting, and looked thoughtful.

"I wonder who it was that hid the scroll there," he murmured aloud when I was finished.

"I don't know."

There was a short moment of silence, which Neji broke.

"Let's get back to training. What else can you do?" he inquired.

"I'll show you. Throw a kunai at me," I encouraged, handing him the one that was in my backpack.

"Are you sure?" he asked, slowly backing up to a good throwing distance.

"Positive. Hit me with your best shot…if you can," I said with a smirk. Neji tossed the knife expertly and it flew towards my shoulder. It got about a half-foot away when I flared Chakra from the points in my shoulder. The kunai went flying in the opposite direction and landed harmlessly in the grass. Neji stared, amazed, as I went to pick it up.

"That is amazing, Kiko. You already have excellent Chakra control," he said as I returned.

"I know. It's just…the five-tailed tiger demon is a different sort of Chakra then the one I can use now. I think that, even if you blocked all of my Chakra points, I would still be able to use that of the tiger demon," I said quietly.

"That is what happened when I battled Naruto during the Chunin exams," he said, nodding his head in agreement, "…so what were you working on _before _I agreed to teach you? I know it was something because when Pakkun brought you to the training field you were low on Chakra."

"Well…Saromi said there is a way that very powerful ninja can use their Chakra to make wings that can fly. I was trying to do that," I said.

"How much did you accomplish?"

"I accomplished nothing more than shooting a lot of Chakra out of my back and severely weakening myself before a large battle," I replied smoothly, "It is difficult to do anything with Chakra that comes from behind me because I can't see."

"Ah. Well, that's why I am here. We're going to continue working on those Chakra Wings, Kiko," Neji said brightly.


	7. Chapter 7 Early

**Chapter 7 **_**(Early)**_

We worked throughout most of the day and by noontime I was getting tired. I had not managed to form Wings with my Chakra and we had reverted to a different sort of training. Neji would through one kunai at me, then I would block it. Then he threw two, then three. We got up to five before a flash of movement caught my eye and prevented me from blocking the last one. Luckily I ducked just in time and missed having my shoulder ripped open.

"What happened?" Neji asked as I bent to pick up the knives.

"I thought I saw…"

I looked around and spotted immediately what I had seen. I swore softly. It was Lady Tsunade, watching us from a distance. When she saw I had spotted her she ducked behind a tree.

"It's the Hokage," I explained to Neji, "she's been watching us."

"Ah. I can't believe I didn't notice…even with my Byakugan," he said, annoyed. Byakugan was Neji's Bloodline trait. It allowed him to see just about anything, including the flow of Chakra. Obviously this made it easy for him to see if someone was following him.

"You had your attention focused entirely on me, not over there. It is completely understandable," I assured him. He didn't respond and I walked over to where Lady Tsunade was hiding.

"You can come out now. We know you're there," I called to her as I approached. She came out with an embarrassed smile.

"Kakashi told me Neji was training you. I just wanted to see how it was going," she explained as Neji and I walked up to her.

"How long have you been watching us?" I asked, partially annoyed.

"Almost an hour. You're doing good…but what were you trying to do shooting Chakra out of your back?" she inquired.

"She was trying to make wings," Neji explained, "I've seen it done before. Saromi told her about it."

"Ah. I see…but you were unsuccessful?" Tsunade asked.

"Obviously," I replied coolly. She frowned slightly.

"Well, I'll let you get on with your training. I'm supposed to be doing paperwork. It's getting late so unless you want to train all night I suggest you two call it quits soon," she said as she walked away. I narrowed my eyes at her retreating back and then turned to face Neji.

"She does have a point. It is getting late," he admitted.

"Well, why can't we train all night?" I asked him. He laughed quietly.

"You've got the spirit, but not the strength, Kiko. You can't build up strength by repeatedly exhausting yourself beyond the breaking point. You need your rest, just as I do," Neji said to me.

"Right…and you've just gotten out of the hospital, too. I should have let you go home ages ago! You must be exhausted!" I exclaimed.

"Not at all. …well, maybe a little bit. But I had fun, training with you. Would you like to go to Ramen Bar?" he inquired.

"Uh, sure. I'm starved and I doubt Kakashi has cooked anything for dinner. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen him cook anything. All he ever does is read," I said, rolling my eyes, "…but he is a good teacher. The best, actually. And he's always taken care of me."

The sky was growing dark and a few stars had appeared as Neji and I reached the Ramen Bar. We walked in and who should we find there but Naruto, stuffing his face, along with Sakura and Neji's cousin Hinata. Sakura was one of Kakashi's students. She had pink hair and green eyes and I got the impression that she usually didn't do anything. She fit the 'helpless girl' stereotype perfectly.

Hinata on the other hand was silver-eyed and blue-haired. She was more than capable of taking care of herself, but she was a shy, timid person. It was public knowledge that she had a major crush on Naruto. Naruto himself seemed to be the only person who didn't know. Hinata and Neji pretty much got along, most of the time, seeing as Hinata's father was training Neji personally. Hinata was basically the heir of the Hyuuga Clan, but Neji was the prodigy.

"Hey Kiko, Hiya Neji. What're you two doing out so late?" Naruto asked through a mouthful of Ramen.

"They're here to eat, obviously," Sakura said, rolling her eyes at him.

"We've been out training all day," I explained as Neji took a seat beside Hinata. I took a seat on the other side of Neji.

"Aren't you supposed to be taking it easy, Neji?" Hinata asked in a quiet voice. Neji smiled at her.

"I'm fine. It's Kiko that's been doing all the training. All I had to do was sit there and throw kunai at her," he assured her.

"Can't put it anymore blatantly that that," I said, smiling at him.

Once we ordered our food and it had arrived we began to eat. Naruto, who was on his third bowl of ramen, insisted on talking to us.

"Man, I wish Grandma Tsunade would give us another mission to go on already. I'm bored," Naruto said. Naruto always called the Hokage 'Grandma Tsunade' because, although she didn't look it, she was actually in her fifties. Lady Tsunade used her jutsu to keep herself looking young and it worked. Not a wrinkle on her face or a bag under her eyes.

"Naruto, didn't you just come back from a mission yesterday?" I asked accusingly.

"Yeah, but that was just some stupid escort mission. I want to go on a real mission!"

"Naruto, it wasn't just some stupid escort mission. We were accompanying the daughter of a feudal lord to the Sand Village," Sakura said, annoyed.

"She was just some kid going to visit her friend. She was like 6 years old…she still had a teddy bear for cryin' out loud!" he exclaimed. I studied my ramen, avoiding eye contact with anyone for a moment. I was thinking of the fact that I still slept with my stuffed lion. What sort of Shinobi was I?

When Neji and I finished eating he walked with me back towards Kakashi's house. The lights were all out and I wondered if Kakashi was out or if he was asleep.

"I'll see you first thing in the morning, Kiko," Neji said as he waved good-bye to me.

"Sure. Thanks Neji," I said, smiling gratefully. I ducked inside before anything else could be said. I went to my room and lay down, feeling exhausted. Isamu stared at me with his little, black, beady lion eyes.

"Training with Neji is fun…it's a lot better than training by myself," I said to Isamu. Being a stuffed animal he didn't respond. I picked him up and hugged him to me, yawning sleepily. I curled myself into a ball and went to sleep.

Early the next morning, before the sun was even up, someone was knocking on my bedroom door.

"What?" I mumbled sleepily. Kakashi stuck his head in the door.

"The Hokage has summoned all the Genin and some of the Chunin to her office. You're one of the Chunin she wants," he said to me.

"Ah! The woman never speaks to me and all of a sudden she comes to watch me train and summons me to her office at-…what time is it anyway?" I demanded.

"Five o'clock," he replied.

"Five o'clock! She can't even wait until sunrise!" I groaned.

"Will you get up? Stop whining, at least you finally get to do something," Kakashi said, rolling his eyes at me.

"Fine. I'll be out in a minute," I grumbled. He left, shutting the door behind him. I got up reluctantly, leaving Isamu on the bed as I got dressed.

"I am right, though. Tsunade's never paid any attention to me before. I wonder what's changed…" I said to Isamu.

On my way to the Hokage's office a few minutes later I met up with Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, and a bunch of other Genin. Among the Chunin chosen was, to my delight, Neji.

"This was earlier than I expected," he said with a faint smile as I walked up to him.

"Yeah. Do you have any idea what's going on?" I inquired.

"Something to do with an intruder. That's all I know," he replied with a shrug. Shikamaru, who was also a Chunin, was walking along beside Neji. He looked as depressed as ever.

"Man this is such a drag. Why couldn't this have waited until later?" Shikamaru groaned.

"you think _everything _is a drag, Shika…but in this case I agree with you completely. This is such a drag," I said, smiling faintly.

"Are you kidding? This is gonna be great," Naruto said, running to catch up with us, "I bet Grandma Tsunade's got some big, Top Secret mission for us to go on."

"All of us?" Shikamaru said skeptically.

"Naruto how can you possibly have this much energy so early in the morning?" Sakura whined, "The sun isn't even up yet!"

As much as I disliked Sakura for her lack of contribution to anything, I had to agree. The horizon was just starting to turn faintly pink.


	8. Chapter 8 the Imposter

**Chapter 8 **_**(The Imposter)**_

When we reached the Hokage's office her assistant led us straight back to her. Lady Tsunade was sitting at her desk, sipping a cup of coffee. The room was filled with the scent of warm coffee and that woke us all up a little bit. Tsunade set the cup down before looking up at us.

"I suppose you're all wondering why I called you here," she said slowly. A few people nodded, others murmured yes. Naruto, on the other hand, pushed his way to the front of the crowd.

"Is it some Top Secret mission? Is a group of ninja about to attack the village? Are we going to start a war?" Naruto asked excitedly and at rocket speed. Tsunade frowned and opened her mouth to tell him to shut up, but before she could I punched him in the arm.

"Shut up and let her talk, Naruto," I growled at him. He grinned sheepishly.

"Last night at around Midnight a group of ninja infiltrated the village. They knocked out two of our guards. The guards were found unconscious and when we were able to resurrect them they claimed a group of about three or four kids, around the age of twelve, had entered the village and defeated them. Now, these kids are nowhere to be found and we have reason to believe they are somewhere in this village, posing as either Genin or Chunin. Obviously I have called you all here to help weed out the intruders," Lady Tsunade said to us.

"Excuse me, Lady Tsunade, but how do you know that the intruder is not one of us in this room?" Neji asked her.

"A very good question. Those of you who are here are the ones who are most heavily guarded and unlikely to be taken by surprise. Neji and Hinata, you are both members of the Hyuuga clan. Their guards possess Byakugan and would have been able to sense an intruder coming," Lady Tsunade explained, "and Tsukiko, you live with one of the greatest ninjas in the village- Kakashi Hatake. I doubt any harm would befall you in his house."

I nodded my head in silent agreement.

"Now, I suspect the intruders will be posing as a lesser ninja so that they can slip by unnoticed. I ask you all to keep an eye on anyone you see behaving oddly. We don't know what they're after, but we sure don't want them to get it. I want you all to go about your days as normal, but be extra attentive," Tsunade continued, "Any questions?"

Almost everyone shook their heads no.

"Just one question," I said stepping forward, "Couldn't this have waited until morning?"

"No," she snapped at me, "now get to work."

Neji and I left the Hokage's office together and I saw him looking oddly at me.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"Why are you trying to provoke the Hokage?" he inquired. I contemplated my answer for a moment before responding.

"Because it annoys me that she's gone from ignoring me to being completely absorbed with me. I still resent her for ignoring me the first fifteen years of my life," I replied.

"You _want _her to hate you?" he asked exasperatedly.

"Better than her being nice without me knowing why," I grumbled. He shook his head in quiet amazement.

"So, what do you think of the assignment?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"I think she is wrong about the intruders disguising themselves as less-experienced ninja. If I was an intruder I'd disguise myself as a well-known, well-respected Shinobi," I replied.

"Why?"

"Because, if they're after information, then it makes sense for them to use someone experienced. I mean, if a younger ninja starts asking questions about…I dunno, the list of those who'll be on guard duty or something, it'll look really suspicious, but if it's someone like…Guy-sensei, for example, it won't seem as suspicious," I answered. Guy-sensei was Neji's teacher, and was the first person that had popped into my head when thinking of experienced ninja. _Why didn't I use Kakashi as an example? _I wondered to myself, but shook it off.

"So you think we should start staking out the older ninja?" Neji asked me.

"It's just a suggestion. We can do whatever you want," I replied awkwardly.

"Well, I agree with you 100% Kiko. Usually I wouldn't defy a direct order from the Hokage, but she's got a dozen others to keep an eye on the Genin and Chunin. And I trust your instinct," he said simply, "Where shall we go first?"

As it turns out we didn't have to go anywhere. Rock Lee, who was a teammate of Neji's, and a miniature version of Guy-sensei, straight down to the green jumpsuit and bushy eyebrows, along with the bowl-like haircut. My run-ins with him were limited, but I knew the bond between him and Guy-sensei was strong.

"Neji, Tsukiko, I cannot find Guy-sensei. I thought perhaps he had started training without me, but I have been to all the training fields and he is not there," Lee said to us. Neji caught my eye and nodded his head. Had I not just used Guy-sensei as an example? Of course now we had to tell Rock Lee so he wouldn't jump out and ruin our whole operation.

"Rock Lee, we think there is a possibility that Guy-sensei is being impersonated by ninja who have infiltrated the village," Neji said to him.

"What?! Someone is impersonating my Guy-sensei! I will make them regret the day they were born!" Lee shouted, and tried to take off running. I grabbed the back of his jumpsuit and jerked him backwards.

"Discretion is key here, Rock Lee. We don't know for certain and there are three or four ninja in all, so we don't want to spook the others," I said to him, "Do you understand?"

He nodded his head in understanding.

"I will be here to help if you need me. Tsukiko and Neji…I'm with you!" he said, giving us a thumbs up. It was difficult to restrain from rolling my eyes at Neji.

I didn't ask Neji where we were headed and he didn't volunteer any answers. Rock Lee followed behind us, still fuming that someone had impersonated his beloved teacher. When we arrived at the gate to Konohagakure I saw Guy-sensei leaning against the gate, talking to the guards.

"That is not Guy-sensei," Lee whispered to us.

"How can you tell?" I inquired curiously.

"A student has a way of knowing these things. His posture is completely off, for instance. My Guy-sensei would never slouch like that. This intruder is way too relaxed," Lee replied reverently.

"I stand by Lee. I can see that his Chakra levels are a lot weaker than the real Guy-sensei's. This is definitely an imposter," Neji said softly. His eyes were squinted. He was using his Byakugan to look at Guy's Chakra levels.

"Let us take him out!" Lee said, and again I had to grab him by the back of his jumpsuit to keep him from running out and ruining everything. My efforts were futile, however, because who should pop up then but Naruto.

"Hiya Neji! Hiya Kiko! How's it goin'? Have you found the intruder yet?" Naruto said loudly.

"Be quiet you idiot!" I snapped, but it was too late. The Guy-imposter had heard him and was running towards the gate. I let out a frustrated, tiger-like growl, and took off running after him.

It only took me a few seconds to catch the imposter. I leapt into the air and knocked him into the ground hard enough to jar his ninjutsu and reveal his true form- a scraggly brown-haired, brown-eyed kid who looked absolutely petrified. I had knocked the breath out of him and he was pretty much immobilized.


	9. Chapter 9 the Psychic and the Dream

**Chapter 9 **_**(The Psychic and the Dream)**_

"You are a disgrace to the name of ninja Naruto Uzumaki!" The Hokage was shouting. We had turned the imposter in and told the Hokage everything that had happened. She was rightly furious at Naruto and so was I.

"Your recklessness nearly cost us one imposter," I growled at him.

"And you spooked the other two into running! Now we can only hope the one imposter we _did _manage to catch will rat on his friends," Tsunade continued, livid.

"Well he should, seeing as he was so scared of Kiko, here," Naruto said cheerfully.

"Shut up, Naruto!" Tsunade and I shouted simultaneously. We glanced at each other, surprised, and quickly looked away. Naruto looked irritated.

"No fair! Ya'll are gangin' up on me!" he complained.

"Shut up and get out of my office. All of you," Tsunade said. Neji inclined his head slightly, but I opened my mouth to protest. Neji grabbed my arm and dragged me out behind him along with Naruto.

"The last thing you want to do is pick a fight with the Hokage," Neji said as soon as we were outside, "…though I was impressed with your temporary unity."

"Well, I wasn't," Naruto grumbled.

"Quiet, you," I said to him threateningly.

"Easy, Kiko…it's not Naruto's fault he's an idiot," Neji said to me.

"Yeah. It's not my fault I'm a- Hey!" Naruto protested, "I'm not an idiot!"

"Did the Hokage say what the intruders were after?" Neji inquired, ignoring Naruto's discontent.

"Something about a schedule of the guards," Naruto replied with a shrug. I stiffened slightly. I had only been using that as an example and I'd hit it dead on! Neji, being the brilliant person he was, picked up on it immediately as well.

"Kiko, I want to talk to you…_now,_" Neji said quickly. He led me away from Naruto and towards the place where we had trained yesterday.

"How could you have possibly know exactly what was going to happen?" he asked, amazed.

"I don't know. I was just using it as an example," I replied truthfully. There was a curious expression on Neji's face that I interpreted as skepticism.

"Neji, I swear to you I had nothing to do with any sort of attack on the village," I said earnestly.

"Oh, I believe you," he assured me, "I was just thinking…you have dreams sometimes, don't you? About things that happen in the future or things that have happened before?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"You told me yourself when you were telling me how you came to summon snakes, remember?"

"oh yeah."

"And a lot of people know you predicted the Sand Village's attack a few years ago," he continued.

"Not that anyone bothered to listen to me," I said wryly.

"I would have listened to you," he said quietly.

There was an awkward silence in which I looked away, blushing a very deep shade of red.

"Anyway, as odd as this sounds, I believe you… are psychic," he said finally.

"Psychic," I repeated. The word sounded strange to me.

"Yes. You know things no one else knows, you see things that happened before your time, and you have dreams about things that haven't happened yet."

"Well, if all those things make me psychic then I guess that is what I am," I replied with a shrug.

"Right. Now that that's settled, how about we get on with our training?"

"Fine by me."

Kakashi found me around lunchtime. He looked around at the buildings with a curious expression on his face.

"Interesting place to train," he remarked.

"We chose it for its remote location, hoping we wouldn't be interrupted. Obviously we failed because first Tsunade found us, now you…" I said as I deflected the last of the kunai Neji had tossed at me.

"Mm. Well I just heard that you helped capture one of the intruders and I came to congratulate you…both of you," Kakashi said with a smile.

"We would've gotten them all if Naruto hadn't ruined it," I grumbled.

"Yeah, he does have the tendency to do that," he said sheepishly. Naruto was his student after all.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I'm leaving to go on a mission shortly. I won't be here for a few days," Kakashi said, "So don't have any wild parties at the house while I'm gone."

I scoffed and aimed a playful punch at him. He ducked out of the way, laughing.

"Bye Kakashi," I said as he walked off.

"Later gator!" he called back cheerfully.

After we finished training for the day Neji walked me home. The sun hadn't quite set, but we were both tired anyway. Probably from having to get up so early.

"See you tomorrow, Neji," I said with a faint smile.

"Bye Kiko."

I went inside, not at all liking the fact that the house was empty. It didn't feel as safe without Kakashi there. Falling asleep was difficult that night, even with Isamu, and when I finally did get to sleep I began to dream.

_A cloaked and hooded figure stood outside the house I now called home. The person raised a pale hand with red painted fingernails and knocked on the door. A gray-haired man opened it immediately with a mask covering half his face. It was a somewhat younger version of Kakashi Hatake._

"_My lady…what are you doing here so late?" he asked, stifling a yawn._

"_Yuki and Kasumi are dead, Kakashi," she replied in a hoarse voice. He gasped audibly._

"_Wha-…who…? Orochimaru!" he growled angrily._

"_Yes. Now, there is a time to mourn for your sister, but this is not it. She knew the risks when she agreed to take the mission. With Yuki dead this task falls to you and you alone," the hooded woman said._

"_What about Hiashi? Or Jiraiya?" he asked anxiously. _

"_Hiashi Hyuuga has his own child to care for, and now his nephew as well. The task will only fall to Hiashi if you refuse or are incapable of doing it anymore. As for Jiraiya…well, would you trust him with _your _kids if you had them?" the woman asked. Kakashi shook his head._

"_Of course not. I will do it. Yuki entrusted me with this task…she mush have known something I don't," he said._

"_She's not the only one who trusts you," the cloaked woman said seriously, then she walked away._

I awoke with a start, my heart pounding in my chest. Isamu had fallen off the bed and I snatched him up, hugging him close to me. I walked through the empty house feeling more alone and full of questions than ever before.

When the sun rose a little while later I had chased the bad dream monsters away with the smell of pancakes cooking. There was a quiet knock on the front door and I opened it to find Neji standing there.

"There you are…something smells good," he said, inhaling deeply. I blushed furiously and mentally smacked myself in the head. He meant the pancakes smelled good.

"It's pancakes," I said, feeling idiotic, "…uh…would you like some breakfast?"

"sure," he said with a smile.

A few minutes later as we sat at the kitchen table, eating breakfast, I remembered one of the names mentioned by Kakashi in my dream last night.

"Hiashi Hyuuga is your uncle, right?" I asked in what I hoped was a casual voice.

"Yes. He's Hinata's father. Why do you ask?" he inquired. Now I'd have to tell him something…

"It was just a name I heard in my dream last night…but I don't really remember it," I lied quickly. I didn't know why I had felt the need to lie to him and I felt bad about it, but he had believed me.

"Is he in danger?" Neji asked quickly.

"No, not at all," I assured him, "…I think it was a past-tense dream."

"Oh," he said then hesitated slightly before asking, "Are you sure it wasn't Hizashi Hyuuga?"

"No…"

"You're sure?"

"Yes. Why? Who is Hizashi Hyuuga?" I asked curiously.

"My father."

There was an awkward silence in which Neji stared determinedly at his plate.

"Hey…uh, I'm not really hungry anymore. Why don't we go ahead and head out?" I suggested quickly. He nodded, grateful for the change of subject. I put the dishes in the sink, thinking I'd wash them later, and put the leftovers in the fridge for Pakkun.

Later, when we were training, I was able to successfully form wings with my Chakra energy. I let out a triumphant whoop that died out as I saw a figure approaching on the horizon. It was Guy-sensei. The real Guy-sensei, I supposed, who had been found locked in his own basement. As he got closer I noticed he looked unusually sad.

"That is the real Guy, isn't it?" I asked Neji when he came to see what I was looking at.

"Yes, but I've never seen him look so grave before…" he murmured.

"Tsukiko Akane? The Hokage wants to see you in her office right away," Guy said when he reached us.

"What for?" I demanded.

"I can't say…but you had better go, too, Neji," Guy said to him.

"Yes, Sensei," Neji said, inclining his head obediently.

We walked towards the Hokage's office together.

"I wonder what she wants us for?" Neji mused aloud.

"I don't know, but I'm getting tired of this woman interrupting my training. I feel like I _live _in her office as much time as I've been spending there," I said, rolling my eyes. Neji tried to look stern and disapproving, but failed miserably as he burst out laughing. This delighted me beyond anything and I also began to laugh.

I wasn't laughing a few minutes later, however, when we were in the Hokage's office. She looked even more grave than Guy-sensei.

"Tsukiko…Kakashi Hatake is missing."


	10. Chapter 10 Top Secret

**Chapter 10 **_**(Top-Secret)**_

My mind was completely blank. I simply stood there, staring at Lady Tsunade for a very long time.

"We've had contact with the village he was supposed to be traveling to. He was supposed to have arrived late last night, but he did not. I have a large grouped of ninja scouring the woods for him…even the ANBU Black Opps have joined in. Now, the matter at hand is where you will stay until Kakashi returns…and he will return," she said. This last part was obviously supposed to be her way of reassuring me.

"I am fifteen years old, Lady Tsunade…I am more than capable of staying by myself," I said. Even to me my voice sounded hollow and distant. I wondered to myself why I had said that. I didn't even _want _to stay by myself!"

"You will not be staying alone. Kakashi wouldn't want that," Tsunade said strictly, "You will be staying with-"

"Hiashi Hyuuga," I chided at the same time she said it. There was a moment of stunned silence in which I was dimly aware of both Neji and Tsunade staring at me in amazement.

"How did you-…? Never mind that now. Yes, you will go and stay with Hiashi Hyuuga until Kakashi returns. Hiashi is already aware of this. I want you to go home and get some clothes and anything else you may need, then I want you to go straight to Hiashi's house, understand?" Tsunade asked me.

"Yes, Hokage," I said, nodding my head. She seemed surprised at my lack of resistance, but I didn't feel like waging war with her today…I was too worried about Kakashi. I did pause at the door, however, and turned to face her.

"I want to help look for him," I said tonelessly.

"That's absolutely out of the question!" she exclaimed.

"Why not?"

She thought carefully before answering and when she _did _answer her voice was strained with emotion.

"Kakashi was dealing with a Top Secret Mission that only a select few know about and only about a third of them fully understand. Only those who are highly qualified and who have been with this project since the beginning are out looking for him," she said quietly.

"Hiashi knows," I stated calmly, and again she stared at me in amazement, "So why isn't he out there searching?"

"Hiashi…Hiashi is working on a different part of the mission now," she replied.

"With Kakashi gone the assignment falls to him and now his life is just as much in danger as Kakashi's…and if Hiashi is killed…" my voice trailed off as I thought about the next person mentioned in my dream- Jiraiya. The super-strong, but super-perverted ninja who was sometimes Naruto's teacher. He also wrote a series of trashy 'romance' novels that, I was sad to admit, Kakashi was addicted to.

"How do you know-?" Tsunade began, but I left the office abruptly, letting the door slam shut behind me.

Halfway home I heard a voice call out my name from behind me.

"Kiko!"

I turned to see Neji running towards me and I paused to wait for him to catch up.

"What was that all about?" he inquired.

"I'll tell you later, okay? I promise," I murmured to him. He looked considerate for a moment and then nodded his head.

"Okay."

He followed me back to Kakashi's house without saying anything else or asking any questions at all. When I went inside he said he would wait outside for me and he would escort me to Hiashi's house, where he also lived.

I went to my room and grabbed my bag out of the closet. I started throwing random articles of clothing into the bag without really thinking about it. When I was finished with the clothes I looked around the room curiously. I had the feeling I was forgetting something…Isamu! I grabbed the stuffed lion quickly and put him in my bag.

I couldn't stop myself from peering into Kakashi's room in the hope that he would be there, but it was empty.

"Are you ready, Kiko?" Neji asked softly when I walked out the front door. I nodded my head numbly. We walked towards the Hyuuga household together and I could tell Neji was struggling, trying to think of something to say.

"Well at least you'll be staying at my house until Kakashi comes home," he said in an attempt to cheer me, "It'll be just like a sleepover."

_A sleepover where I get to ponder the fate of my most beloved teacher…_I thought miserably to myself, _…but I've got to be brave. For Neji, if nothing else._

"Yeah. It'll be like a sleepover," I said, smiling at him.

As we approached the house I saw Hiashi Hyuuga standing out front, waiting for us. He had the hereditary silver eyes of the Hyuuga Clan that was dominant in both Neji and Hinata. When we reached Hiashi, Neji bowed and motioned for me to do the same. I did.

"Welcome to my home, Lady Tsukiko. Hopefully your stay here will be a pleasant one, and short in the safe return of your Sensei," Hiashi said to me, inclining his head slightly.

"Thank you, Lord Hiashi," I said quietly. Hiashi turned his attention on Neji.

"I am counting on you to help your friend feel welcome, Neji. Will you show her to her room? It will be the one across the hall from yours," Hiashi said to him.

"Of course, Lord Hiashi. Come, Kiko," Neji said, beckoning to me.

I followed Neji down a series of hallways until he stopped.

"This would be your room," he said, indicating a door to his right. He opened the door for me and I walked in to have a look around. The walls were painted black, as was the cherry wood wardrobe that was in the corner. There was a small desk, which was also made of cherry wood. The bed looked just as expensive as everything else. The bedclothes were red satin.

"Wow," was all I could say. Neji smiled slightly.

"The Hyuuga Clan does have expensive taste," he admitted. I followed him back out of the room so he could show me some other places.

"My room is there," he said, indicating the room across the hall, "and the bathroom is down that way. Lady Hinata's room is on a different hallway, but sometimes her little sister, Hanabi, can be found wandering around."

"I didn't know she had a sister," I said, surprised.

"Well she does. Hanabi is Lord Hiashi's youngest daughter," Neji replied.

"What about you? Have you got any siblings?" I asked curiously.

"No. …I'll leave you to get settled in, shall I?" he said. I nodded my head and went into my room. A moment later I heard Neji's bedroom door shut.

I set Isamu on the bed and began to put my clothes away.

"We won't be here long," I said to Isamu, "but it is always good to make sure we're comfortable."

The stuffed lion had no response to this.

"You'll have to stay out of sight, Isamu. …What sort of ninja still sleeps with a stuffed lion, after all? What would Neji say if he knew?" I said to Isamu. The lion still didn't reply, and I could only hope he wouldn't be offended.


	11. Chapter 11 Nightmares!

**Chapter 11 **_**(Nightmares!)**_

When I was finished putting my things away and had grown bored with my new accommodations, I slipped out of my room and knocked on Neji's door.

"…Yes?" he asked from within.

"It's Kiko," I said quietly, as if it would be anyone else, "Do you still want to know how I knew those things in the Hokage's office?"

"Yes. You may enter," he replied immediately. I opened the door slowly and peered inside. His room was almost identical to mine, except that his bedding was black rather than red satin. Neji himself sat on a mat in the middle of the floor. A stick on incense burned beside him.

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously.

"Meditating, obviously. It's very relaxing. Have a seat," he replied, indicating the mat. I sat down cross-legged across from him and he smiled.

"Now, I believe you wanted to tell me something?" he asked.

"Well, the other night I had a strange dream…"

When I finished recounting every detail of this strange dream, Neji looked thoughtful.

"And you have no idea who the hooded woman was?" he inquired.

"Not the faintest," I replied. There was a moment of curious silence.

"So, what do you think about the Top Secret mission?" he asked me.

"Well, I'm not sure. I _think _it has something to do with me…since whoever I'm staying with seems to be working on it. What do you think?"

"I think you're an idiot for not telling me sooner, and I mean that in the kindest way possible. I also think _you _are the Top Secret mission," he replied.

"What? Why would I be a Top Secret mission?" I asked, startled.

"How about the fact that you have a five-tailed demon inside of you? Or the fact that Orochimaru has been trying to get his hands on you again since you were two years old?"

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that," I said sheepishly, "…but wait a minute! That means…it _is _my fault that Kakashi was…well, whatever happened to him…and that my parents…"

"Kiko, the _last _thing you want to do is go blaming yourself. It is _not _your fault," he said sharply, "Yuki and Kakashi both knew what might happen to them and they both readily accepted it, out of love for you. Just as I am sure Lord Hiashi must know the dangers, even now. You are not to blame."

I couldn't really think of anything to say after that and I stared intently at the stick of incense.

"Thank you, Neji," I murmured softly.

"I'm merely stating fact," he said with a shrug, "but you are most welcome, Kiko. Now, how about we go find something to eat?"

"Sure," I said, smiling at him.

Later that night I found myself back in my room. I hugged Isamu as I covered myself with one of the cool satin sheets. I closed my eyes and fell asleep almost immediately. As soon as I was asleep, I started to dream…

_Deep in the forest, past two rivers, near a rock shaped like an elephant, men in dark cloaks inhabited the ruins of an old castle. One of them went down to the dungeon where a gray-haired man was strung up, held by rusty chains on his hands and feet. He was bruised, dirty, and tired._

"_Kakashi Hatake…how nice to see you," the cloaked man said in a chilling voice._

"_Orochimaru…" Kakashi groaned._

"_Yes. Now my guards tell me you are being most uncooperative. You won't tell us where the little girl is, hmm?"_

"_Never! I would… rather die than… betray her…" he retorted weakly._

"_Die like your sister? Die like poor little Yuki? I could have spared her, you know? But it is so fun to watch them die," Orochimaru replied, smiling evilly. Kakashi struggled against the chains, trying to launch himself at Orochimaru. Orochimaru merely laughed, a cold, chilling, evil laugh._

"_Let's see how well you can move after this," he said, raising a hand. The last thing I heard was the sound of Kakashi screaming…_

"No!" I screamed aloud, waking myself up. I was crying and my heart was pounding in my chest. Isamu had fallen off the bed, but I wasn't looking for Isamu. The door opened and Neji walked in, looking extremely worried.

"Tsukiko what's wrong?" he asked, alarmed.

"I saw him, Neji! I saw Orochimaru! He's got Kakashi and…Neji, he's torturing him!"

I was trying to stifle my tears and keep my voice calm, but I couldn't. Neji came to sit beside me on the bed and he opened his arms to me. I fell into his embrace, sobbing madly.

He was startled and uncertain but did his best to comfort me. He patted my back awkwardly and made quiet, soothing noises.

"It's possible it was just a nightmare," he murmured quietly. I shook my head no.

"No, Neji. It was one of those psychic things…" I said, through my stream of tears.

"Well, what do you want to do? You want to go to the Hokage? We can go to the Hokage," he said softly. I nodded my head weakly and he stood up, taking me with him.

"Then let's go," he said.

It was late at night, probably midnight at the latest, and Neji and I hurried towards the Hokage's office. It was difficult for me to walk straight and I ended up leaning on Neji for support.

The Hokage's assistant wasn't at her desk so we went and knocked on her office door.

"Who is it?" Tsunade's voice asked sharply from within.

"Neji Hyuuga, Lady Hokage. Tsukiko and I wish to speak with you," he said.

"Very well," she said, surprised, "Come on in."

Lady Tsunade sat at her desk, a pile of paperwork sitting in front of her, and a glass of something that definitely wasn't tea sat beside her.

"It's a little late for a social call, isn't it Neji?" Tsunade asked, but her eyes were on me.

"Forgive me, Hokage…but Kiko had one of those dreams again. Will you tell her about it Kiko?" Neji asked me gently. I shook my head no.

"I can't," I said softly.

"Don't worry, I will. Kiko saw Kakashi in her dream…he was being tortured by Lord Orochimaru," Neji said to Tsunade. I let out a strangled sob at the way he so blatantly stated this fact.

"It is as I feared then," Tsunade said slowly, "Did you see where he is, Tsukiko?"

"Some castle ruins. In the woods. Past an elephant-shaped rock formation," I said hoarsely.

"I'll send a team of ninja in that direction immediately," she said.

"I want to go."

"Absolutely not!"

"But I can help," I insisted, "I can show them where Orochimaru is hiding."

"That's not necessary, Tsukiko. The best thing for you to do is to return to Lord Hiashi's house," Tsunade said.

"…Yes Hokage," I said meekly. I narrowed my eyes at her in a death glare before stomping out, letting the door slam behind me.

"Neji, don't let her out of your sight," I heard Tsunade say to him.

"Yes Hokage," I heard him reply.


	12. Chapter 12 Rescue Mission

**Chapter 12 **_**(Rescue Mission)**_

I hurried away from the Hokage's office and back to the Hyuuga house without Neji. As soon as I had found my room again I snatched up my backpack and shoved Isamu inside. I was shoving clothes in the backpack when Neji walked in.

"Now where do you think you're going?" he asked casually.

"You know where I'm going. Don't try to stop me," I retorted without stopping.

"I'm not stopping you…I'm going with you," he said coolly.

"Absolutely not! It's too dangerous," I said. There was an odd silence in which we both realized how much I sounded like Lady Tsunade. Talk about creepy!

"If you think I'm letting you walk into Orochimaru's midst alone, then you are crazy Tsukiko Akane," he said finally, "besides- you would starve before you got there. You don't even know where the kitchen is, do you?"

I shook my head 'no' with a watery smile.

"You finish packing and I'll go get some food. Meet me outside when you're finished…and don't even _think _about leaving without me because I'll find you," he said, walking out the door.

A little while later we met outside the front door of the Hyuuga house. Neji had a large pack that he insisted was light.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked me.

"Yeah…I'm really glad you're coming with me, Neji," I said quietly.

"I'm just following the Hokage's orders. She said not to let you out of my sight…and I don't mean to," he replied with a shrug. I couldn't help it…I had to hug him. I threw my arms around him. He stood there stiffly.

"You're not going to cry again, are you?" he asked awkwardly. I shook my head and pulled away from him. I punched him lightly in the arm.

"Hey! First a hug, then a punch? What's that about?" he asked, laughing faintly.

"I'm a girl of many emotions, Neji Hyuuga. Now let's go find my Sensei!" I exclaimed.

It wasn't long before we had to stop for the night, but we'd gotten deep into the forest. We had reached the first of the two rivers I had seen in my dream. I had wanted to continue but Neji had kindly pointed out that I couldn't burst in and save Kakashi if I was half-asleep.

We made a makeshift camp not far from the river. I started a small fire and dragged up a good stock of wood.

"I didn't have time to grab a tent, but I got two sleeping bags so at least we won't have to sleep on the ground," Neji said as he rolled the sleeping bags out.

"Cool," I said, stifling a yawn. I plopped down on the sleeping bag and reached for my backpack. It fell over and out fell Isamu, into the dirt. I froze and out of the corner of my eye, saw Neji pick Isamu up and brush the dirt off of him.

"Cute. Where'd you get it?" he asked, handing Isamu back to me.

"K-Kakashi gave him to me a long time ago. His name is Isamu," I stammered.

"Nice name. It means courage, right?"

"Uh-huh…. You don't think it's…childish? For me to have a stuffed lion?" I asked anxiously.

"Of course not," he said with a smile, "Especially if Kakashi gave him to you."

Before we went to sleep Neji took a look around with his Byakugan to confirm that we were indeed safe in our little camp.

That night I had the same dream again. The dream about Orochimaru and Kakashi. When I awoke, weeping silently, I saw that Neji was sleeping peacefully a few feet away. I scooched closer to him and he opened one eye.

"S'wrong, Kiko?" You have another bad dream?" he asked groggily.

"Same one," I whispered through my tears.

"Come here," he murmured, opening his arms. I moved over and he embraced me.

"Do you want to put more wood on the fire?" he asked a few minutes later.

"No. I'm quite warm… now," I replied, snuggling closer to him. I felt him smile and close his eyes.

"Goodnight, Tsukiko," he said softly.

"Goodnight, Neji," I whispered, closing my eyes.

The next morning when I awoke the fire had died out completely and I was cold, despite Neji's body heat. I rolled away from him and stood up, stretching. Neji opened his eyes and looked up at me, smiling. I blushed faintly.

"Come on," I said quickly, "We've got to find Kakashi!"

"We can eat first," he replied, getting up, "We'll need the energy."

Ten minutes later we left our pathetic little camp and we were on our way.

"Strange," Neji remarked as we ran, "I don't see any of the ninja Lady Tsunade said she would send."

I turned my head slightly to see that he was using his Byakugan to look around.

"Since when does Lady Tsunade listen to me, anyway?" I muttered darkly, rolling my eyes, "…besides, the ninja are probably all out looking for us."

He looked at me oddly.

"I wonder if we're considered missing-nin because we left without her permission?" he mused.

"Don't we have enough to worry about without wondering if we're missing-nin?" I replied.

"Yeah. Good point."

Sometime around midday I realized I was lost. I slowed down to a walk and Neji looked at me curiously.

"We should have reached the second river by now," I said slowly.

"You mean we're lost?" Neji asked exasperatedly.

"No! Just a little turned around…but I have an idea," I said quickly. He watched curiously as I took a stance, formed the hand seals, and pressed my palm to the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!" I said loudly.

Saromi appeared in a puff of smoke.

"There you are. Everyone in the village is out looking for you. What did you do, run away?" Saromi asked me, flicking out his tongue.

"No. We're going to rescue Kakashi from Orochimaru," I informed him. The snake froze.

"Did you say Orochimaru?" Saromi hissed.

"Yes."

"Well, what do you need me for?" he inquired.

"Can snakes find water by smelling?"

"Of course."

"Well I'm looking for a river. A big river," I said.

"Ah. You're lost," Saromi said wisely.

"I'm not lost. You're here," I said agitatedly, "Now, can you find the river or not?"

"Yes. Follow me," Saromi said, and took off slithering towards the East. Neji and I had been heading north.

It didn't take long for Saromi to find the exact same river I had seen in my dream.

"Excellent, Saromi. Now, we follow the river until we reach the elephant-shaped rock structure," I said, "Would you like to come with us?"

"I have nothing better to do," replied the snake.

We reached the elephant rock just as the sun slipped beneath the horizon.

"Do you have a plan?" Saromi asked lazily. I looked helplessly at Neji.

"I thought you had a plan!" he exclaimed, "How did you plan on rescuing Kakashi without a plan?"

"The same way I do everything else," I replied.

"Which is?" Saromi inquired.

"Through a series of rash actions ruled by instinct."

I think I was quoting myself and I smiled slightly.

"I don't think that will work here, Kiko," Neji said desperately.

"Well, all I know about this place is that it's heavily guarded, but almost no one stays inside. Kakashi is in the dungeon and-"

Something hit me in the back of the head suddenly and I blacked out.


	13. Chapter 13 The Butterfly Child

**Chapter 13 **_**(The Butterfly Child and Orochimaru)**_

When I came to I was lying on something cold and hard. Thinking I was still sleeping outside on the ground I reached out instinctively for Neji, but this was a huge mistake. Pain shot through my skull and I let out a startled cry.

"Tsukiko!" said two voices, one weaker than the other.

"N-Neji? Kakashi?" I groaned. I opened my eyes slowly. I was either in a dimly lit basement or the dungeon where I had seen Kakashi being tortured. My guess would be the latter, but not the most reassuring. I lifted my head slightly and had to stifle another scream. I laid my head back down weakly. Everything from my neck and above hurt…even my eyelids!

"Kiko are you okay?"

I opened my eyes again to see Neji crouching beside me. His lip was split open and bleeding slightly. His body was plagued with a horrid disarray of bruises. My God…if he looked that bad then what did _I _look like?

"Never mind me. Are _you _alright?" I demanded faintly.

"Nothing that won't heal," he assured me.

"…Where is Kakashi?" I asked suddenly. There was a low muffled groan and I tried to turn my head but Neji stopped me with a gentle hand.

"Don't move your head. I think your skull may be cracked. Kakashi is chained up- I said don't move, Kiko!" he exclaimed, but I ignored him and lifted my head, gritting my teeth as I did so. The pain in my skull was almost sickening, but after a few deep breaths it dissipated slightly and I was able to open my eyes. Kakashi was just as I had seen him in my dream- weak, bruised, and bloody…but alive. Relief spread through me.

"Kakashi," I breathed, "Are you okay?"

"Oh I'm just peachy," he said sarcastically, but with a faint grin, "Never better."

I laughed uneasily, making my head swim again.

"Now I know where she gets her sense of humor," Neji said with a wry smile.

"I didn't think she had one," Kakashi replied.

"Stop making fun of me," I growled playfully. Spots danced in front of my eyes that had nothing to do with anger. I swayed for a moment then began to fall over. Neji caught me as gently as possible and laid my head in his lap so I wouldn't have to lie on the stone floor. I blushed when I saw Kakashi smirking at me, but he said nothing.

"What happened?" I asked, referring to our capture.

"Well you failed to mention the fact that there were guards outside. They hit you in the head and I fought with them, but there were more of them than me and I was captured. They carried us in here and tossed us down the steps. That's how you cracked your skull…on the stone floor," Neji informed me. He and Kakashi both winced slightly at the memory.

"Have you tried to get Kakashi down from there?" I inquired.

"No, he figured he'd let me hang here," said Kakashi sarcastically, "Of course he tried!"

"The chains are made of Chakra. I can't break them," Neji explained.

"Maybe I can give it a try," I said.

"You'll do nothing of the sort," said Neji at the same time Kakashi said, "No way, Kiko!"

I was slightly annoyed at the fact that they were ganging up on me, but I was too tired to do anything about it.

"So, do you have a plan?" I murmured to Neji.

"I have many plans…but I assume you mean one for our present situation?"

"That would be most helpful, yes," I said, rolling my eyes. Even that hurt.

"Well…not really. It's obviously best if we don't let them know who you are. So no more Tsukiko," Neji said slowly.

"I agree," Kakashi said from the wall.

"And no more tiger demon Chakra," Neji continued.

"I'll second that motion," I muttered darkly, "What'll my new name be?"

There were a few moments of silence. Neji sighed.

"Chouko," he said, startling me.

"What?" Kakashi and I both said in unison.

"Chouko," Neji repeated with an apologetic sort-of smile, "I thought of it while you were…sleeping."

"I like it," I assured him. His smile turned into one of relief.

"I like it, too," he said, "It means 'butterfly child'."

"Oh great, now I'm a caterpillar," I said with the same playful sarcasm used by Kakashi. They both laughed and for a second my head didn't hurt at all…but only for a second.

The door to the dungeon opened and the laughter died immediately. The footsteps on the stone stairs echoed coldly around the dungeon.

"Ah. So nice to see you're all awake," said a chilling voice.

"Can you sit up, Chouko?" Neji whispered to me.

"I don't know," I whispered back weakly.

"Try," he encouraged, "…do it for me. I hate to think of what he'll do to you if you're laying down."

Struggling, but with Neji's help, I forced myself into a sitting position. I opened my eyes and found myself looking into the cold, red eyes of Lord Orochimaru!

My blood practically froze in my veins and for a few moments no one dared say anything.

"So, your name is Chouko, is it?" Orochimaru said, taking a step towards me, "Tell me, Chouko…do you know who I am?"

"L-lord Orochimaru," I murmured fearfully.

"Good. Then you know how very, _very _afraid you should be…because little girls are _so _much easier to break than boys," he continued in his chilling voice. A flash of movement made me jump as Neji practically threw himself between Orochimaru and myself. His fists were tightly clenched.

"Stay away from her," Neji said in a low, dangerous voice. I was surprised Orochimaru didn't recoil…but then again, Orochimaru's voice could freeze fire. Instead of recoiling Orochimaru laughed.

"Didn't my guards teach you _anything_?" Orochimaru asked with a smirk. He raised his hand and Neji was hurled backwards against the wall with a thud that echoed through me. I let out a strangled cry and Orochimaru smiled like a cat that catches the canary.

"Looks like I've found Chouko's weakness," he said with an evil grin, "Will she tell me what I need to know, or watch her boyfriend die?"

Neji's body was limp on the ground now.

"If I tell you what you want to know will you let us go?" I asked hoarsely.

"Well…I suppose I've come to far to deny such a simple request, not when I'm this close to getting what I want. Yes…I will let you and your boyfriend do," Orochimaru said.

"And Kakashi?"

"Very well. I shall let Kakashi go as well. Now, answer me before I change my mind- where is Tsukiko?" Orochimaru snapped.

"Tsukiko who?"

"I don't know her last name! She could be using Hatake for all I know!" he retorted. A thought that had never occurred to me before. Tsukiko Hatake EW…

"If you mean Kiko Akane, she was sent away as soon as Kakashi went missing. They sent her…to Kirigakure," I lied swiftly. I turned my head as the chains that were holding Kakashi broke. When I looked back Orochimaru was gone, but the door at the top of the stairs was open. We had won…or had we? Was it a trap or had my pure, rash instinct really gotten us all out alive?


	14. Chapter 14 A Natural Born Leader

**Chapter 14 **_**(A natural born leader)**_

Kakashi was on his feet now. Between the two of us we carried the unconscious Neji outside.

"I wish we had his Byakugan about now. It'd come in handy," I murmured.

"I have Sharingan, genius girl," Kakashi said.

"Oh yeah. I forgot," I said sheepishly.

Sharingan was another bloodline trait that was sort of like Byakugan. Kakashi had been given his Sharingan eye by his dying friend. It was the eye that he almost always kept covered by his mask.

"Well, do you see anyone coming?" I inquired.

"…No," he replied.

"Then let's go."

As we walked alongside the river, Neji started to regain consciousness and we had to stop and tell him what happened. He drifted out of consciousness twice during the tale and had to be reawakened. When we got to the part about my lie to Orochimaru he smiled faintly.

"That's my Kiko," he murmured, before losing consciousness again. This time he could not be reawakened.

"We need to get him back to the Village as soon as possible. It's not good for him to be losing consciousness like that," Kakashi said, unable to keep the worry out of his voice.

"Kakashi, if I keep going the only way I'll get back to the Village is if the rescue ninja carry me back in a body bag," I said shortly, "I'm already dizzy and there are spots in front of my eyes. We need to find a safe place to rest."

He recoiled slightly at the coldness of my voice and immediately nodded his head in agreement.

Not only did we find a safe place to rest but we also found mine and Neji's backpacks abandoned in the brush. They'd been left behind when we'd been captured. I pulled the sleeping bags out of Neji's pack and rolled them out. Kakashi helped me lift Neji onto one as gently as possible. When everything was settled I lie down beside Neji and rested my head on his chest. I glared at Kakashi, daring him to say something or laugh, but he had looked pointedly away.

_Good, _I thought sleepily, _He's not gonna say anything._

As I was drifting off to sleep I heard Kakashi muttering to himself.

"Looks like Orochimaru knew something I didn't as well. Humph. _Boyfriend,_" he grumbled with a sneer. I wanted to say something…but I fell asleep.

_That night I dreamed a team of ninja was heading towards us. Medical ninja by the look of it. And on the ground in front of them, leading them apparently was a familiar-looking deadly black snake…Saromi._

I awoke with a start, sitting up as I did so.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked, alarmed.

"Nothing. Help is on the way," I said with a relieved sigh.

"Wha-? Oh. You had a dream," he realized.

"A vision, yes. They've become quite frequent since Orochimaru captured you…" I murmured. At that moment four medical ninja burst through the trees with Saromi in the lead. They all froze. They looked surprised to see us alive, even Saromi. I took charge immediately.

"Neji is the most injured. Get him first. He's passed out so I imagine you'll need a stretcher. I can only imagine what Kakashi has been through. He thinks he's strong, but he needs rest and probably food, too," I said to the immobilized ninjas.

"Tsukiko-" Kakashi protested.

"Shut up, Kakashi. As for me, I've got a rather nasty headache. I'm not entirely sure what happened. Neji seemed to think I had a cracked skull…before he passed out that is. I Dunno why, but maybe because there was spots in front of my eyes and I feel so dizzy…like I've been tossed about in a dryer," I finished. The ninjas mobilized as soon as I was done speaking. Neji and Kakashi were both put on stretchers, despite Kakashi's insistence that he was fine.

"Can you walk Lady Tsukiko?" one of the medical ninja asked me. There was that name again…_Lady _Tsukiko; the same thing Hiashi had called me. Since when had _I _become a Lady?

"I think I can walk, but if I fall do _try _to catch me before I pass out," I said dryly. I heard Kakashi laugh from where he sat and I smiled. The medical ninja smiled as well.

"A sense of humor is always good, no mater how crude," he said, and then walked away.

Saromi slithered up on my shoulders and draped himself around me in a somewhat oddly reassuring manner.

"I'm glad you're okay, Tsukiko," Saromi hissed quietly.

"Thanks to you. How'd you convince them to come?" I inquired curiously.

"Simple. I talked to the Hokage," he replied.

"Oh she'll talk to a snake but not to me?" I said, slightly annoyed.

"To tell you the truth she wasn't in much of a state to disagree with me."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see what I mean when we reach the village," Saromi assured me.

We reached the Village by nightfall. I had walked on my own but my head was throbbing. Kakashi had fallen asleep and Neji had not awakened. As we reached the gate I saw three people waiting for us to arrive. One was Hiashi Hyuuga, undoubtedly worried about the safety of his nephew. Jiraiya was there, though why I couldn't say, other than that he was supporting the Hokage.

Lady Tsunade…she was leaning against Jiraiya out of sheer exhaustion. She had circles under her eyes as if she had not slept in days. Her face was pale and gaunt. When she saw us approaching she swayed slightly. She made as if to step towards us, but Jiraiya placed a hand on her arm.

"Wait, Tsunade. We need to know what happened first. You would come to regret it if you blew the mission. Just…hold it in, for now," he said awkwardly. She nodded numbly and watched, transfixed, as Jiraiya walked over to where Kakashi was trying to sit up.

"Has the mission been compromised?" Jiraiya asked him. Kakashi shook his head no. Strange…Lady Tsunade looked disappointed. She'd _wanted _the mission to be compromised? …Maybe I just wasn't good at reading her expressions.

"Orochimaru is headed to Kirigakure," Kakashi said. Everyone looked surprised, but I stepped in front of Kakashi as my newfound leadership skills flared again.

"Now is not the time to hear that story. Neji needs immediate medical attention. Kakashi's been chained to a wall for…three days, I think? And I'm pretty sure my skull is cracked," I said, swaying slightly. Everyone looked from me to Tsunade. They didn't know if they should obey a fifteen-year-old Chunin, but as their Hokage was in no state to give orders, they began to do as I said. The medical ninja carrying Kakashi and Neji walked through the gates, followed by Hiashi and Jiraiya. I started to follow them, but stopped when I reached Tsunade.

"Are you angry at me for leaving when you said no?" I asked hesitantly, "Neji was only following your order to not let me out of his sight, so you should be mad at me, if you're mad at anyone. I don't apologize for my actions, nor do I regret them. I saved Kakashi, against your orders, and I escaped from Orochimaru's clutches yet again."

"I'm not angry," she said wearily, "…I'm just…glad you're safe."

"You'll take care of Neji, won't you?"

"Yes."

"Good," I said, taking another step towards the gate, but I paused again, "…I'd suggest you get some sleep before you make any big decisions, though. You look worse than I feel…and I've just escaped a dungeon."

"I didn't think you liked me. Thank you for your concern," she said softly. I scoffed slightly, but it was difficult to feel animosity towards the woman I despised when she looked so worn-out.

"I just don't want you to massacre Neji," I said ruefully. She shook her head faintly and smiled, as if remembering something.

"You remind me very much of someone I used to know…a long time ago," she said thoughtfully. I frowned curiously at her, but she was lost in her own thoughts. My head was throbbing again and I took a feeble, stumbling step towards the gate before falling. Right before I lost consciousness I felt someone very strong catch me and I knew I was safe…


	15. Chapter 15 The Hospital

**Chapter 15 **_**(The Hospital)**_

I was hovering on the edge of consciousness. Something shiny was floating above my head and I raised my arm in an effort to grab whatever it was.

"Well! Welcome back to the land of the living, Tsukiko," said a familiar voice. My vision cleared and I saw the sparkling thing was actually the light, and it was farther away than I had thought. The voice belonged to Kakashi who sitting in a chair beside my bed, reading one of those trashy novels.

"How can you read that trash, Kakashi?" I groaned.

"You ask me that three times a week, Tsukiko, and it's _not _trash," he replied testily.

I sat up suddenly, causing a rush of pain and dizziness that I readily ignored.

"How is Neji? Is he okay? Did Tsunade fix him?" I demanded, trying to get up.

"Worry about yourself first," he said, forcing me back down, "You've got a pretty nasty concussion and a fractured rib. You're lucky there wasn't any internal bleeding."

"Yeah. Lucky. Yip-de-doo," I said sarcastically, "Now what about Neji?"

"He'll be fine. The Hokage is with him now. She's fixed both of you up quite well," he replied.

"Oh did she finally get some rest?" I asked, relieved. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at me.

"…Not that I actually care or anything," I added quickly.

"Of course you don't," he said with a smile, "I was impressed with your leadership skills, though…but if you ever tell me to shut up again, I'll knock you into next week. Got it, shrimp?"

I knew he was only joking and I smiled at him.

"Who're you calling a shrimp?" I asked playfully.

"Hmm…_you_. I was calling you, Tsukiko Akane, a shrimp," he said smugly. I growled playfully and lunged at him. He laughed as he dodged out of the way, then he grabbed me from behind and began to tickle me. Being as ticklish as I was I was on the floor in seconds, breathless with laughter as Kakashi continued to tickle me.

"Stop…Kakashi…that tickles…I…can't…breathe!" I gasped through my laughter. At that moment the door opened and who should walk in but Lady Tsunade.

"Aren't you supposed to be resting?" she asked, frowning. I dived back into the hospital bed in record time.

"It's not _my _fault…Kakashi was tickling me to death," I said dramatically, pointing a finger at him.

"Oh sure, blame the Sensei," Kakashi said, mimicking my dramatic tone. I stuck out my tongue at him. Tsunade blew out a sigh.

"You two are _such _children," she said, rolling her eyes, "Honestly, I don't get how you can share a house without destroying it."

"Tsukiko keeps her head most of the time. She's _really _ticklish though," Kakashi said with a smile.

"Well no more tickle fights until her rib heals…got that, Kakashi?" Tsunade asked, hands on her hips.

"Yes Hokage," he replied meekly as she headed for the door.

"Spoil sport," I grumbled to Kakashi. The Hokage whirled around.

"I heard that," she said with a hint of a smile, "and I almost forgot- Neji wants to see you."

I was out of bed and halfway down the hall before I realized I didn't have the faintest idea which room he was in. I turned sheepishly back towards where I'd come from.

"Second door to your left, Kiko," Tsunade called from my room. It sounded like she was laughing at me.

I knocked on the prescribed door and heard a voice from within say enter. Neji was sitting on the edge of his hospital bed. He didn't have a shirt on and I could see his back was bruised from where Orochimaru had thrown him into the wall. I also couldn't help but notice how particularly good and attractive his back was. This, and remembering that it was my fault he was injured, made me lower my eyes.

"Good evening, Kiko…how are you?" he asked hesitantly, "The Hokage wouldn't say."

"Concussion and a cracked rib, but I'll live. What about you?" I inquired.

"Nothing the Hokage couldn't fix," he assured me.

"Neji, I'm so sorry. It's my fault you got injured. I shouldn't have let you come with me," I said miserably. To my surprise he smiled.

"_Let _me? You think you _let _me go with you? For someone so brilliant you sure can be stupid, Tsukiko," he remarked. I stared at the floor as I tried to decipher if I'd been insulted or complimented. I think maybe both.

"Did you compliment me and insult me in the same sentence?" I asked blankly and he laughed.

"Probably. My point is, I would have followed you to the end of the Earth to help you find Kakashi."

"Why?"

"Because you are my friend," he said simply, "Now will you please look at me?"

"N-not until you put a shirt on," I mumbled, blushing.

"Ah. Is it distracting?"

I nodded my head, blushing even harder, but he said nothing. He grabbed his shirt off the chair beside his bed. He was either the most egotistical guy in the world or the most understanding. My guess would be the latter. I looked up when he finished putting his shirt on.

"So how long are they keeping you here?" he asked me.

"Probably overnight. You know doctors," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, thanks to you," he replied, but winked to let me know he was joking. We shared a smile.

"Still, you'd better hurry up and heal. We've still got a lot of training to do," he said seriously. I let out a fake groan and lay my head down on the edge of his bed.


	16. Chapter 16 A New Mission

**PART 2 **_**(Love)**_

**Chapter 16 **_**(A new mission)**_

It had been two months since our glorious escape from Orochimaru's clutches. I still spent most of my time training with Neji and we had progressed sufficiently with my Chakra Wings. Though my wounds had slowed me significantly, I was now able to rise a few feet in the air before gently floating back down. I thought perhaps I could do more if I borrowed the tiger's Chakra, but I was too frightened to do that.

It was really early in the morning, before sunrise, and Kakashi and I were walking towards the Hokage's office.

"I'm getting _really _tired of these early morning things," I grumbled, shivering slightly form the cold. Kakashi laughed softly, but he was only halfway paying attention to me. He was reading another one of Jiraiya's novels. I rolled my eyes. I wished Neji was with us, but he spent his mornings training with Hiashi.

When we arrived at the Hokage's office her assistant, Shizune, told us to go on in. Lady Tsunade was sitting at her desk and she smiled at me when I walked in. She had taken to doing that every time she saw me- smiling, as if this would make me forget the animosity felt towards her. The sad part was I couldn't help but smile in return.

"I have a mission for you, Kakashi…and you, too, Kiko," she said when we were both inside.

"_Both _of us?" Kakashi and I chorused, equally surprised.

"And Neji, too," Tsunade added. Kakashi groaned audibly. Tsunade and I both raised an eyebrow at him, but he shook his head dismissively.

"You can fill Neji in later. I want the three of you to go to the Sand Village. We believe Orochimaru may have spies in the area and I want you to find out what he's up to. You'll have the full cooperation of our allies in the Sand Village. Kiko, you'll be using that other name…what was it?"

"Chouko," I provided.

"Yes, exactly. I want you to leave as soon as possible so go find Neji," Tsunade said.

"Yes, Hokage," we said and headed for the door.

"And Kiko?" Tsunade said. I paused halfway out the door.

"Yes?"

"Take a jacket. It gets cold in the desert at night," she said quietly. I rolled my eyes and followed Kakashi out, letting the door slam behind me.

"Take a jacket," I mimicked once we were outside, "What the _hell _is that about?"

"I dunno," Kakashi replied, shrugging his shoulders, "Let's go find your boyfriend and get a move on."

"He's not my boyfriend," I snarled.

"Okay, okay. Whatever," Kakashi said, laughing slightly.

When we reached the Hyuuga household I led Kakashi through the maze of hallways to where I knew the Courtyard would be where Hiashi and Neji trained. When we walked out my jaw dropped.

Neji was shirtless again and he was aiming punches and kicks that Hiashi was straining to block. Sweat was pouring down Neji's back and his hair had come loose from where he usually kept it tied behind his back. God he looked so _good!_ I wasn't aware I was staring until Kakashi said something.

"Oh for God's sake, Tsukiko, put your eyeballs back in your skull and stop gawking. I know you're a teenager but you look like a female version of Jiraiya," he scoffed. Oh my god, how embarrassing! I'd been practically drooling over Neji…and in front of Kakashi! Thank the stars Neji hadn't noticed!

Hiashi finally noticed we were standing there and he called the training to an abrupt halt.

"Forgive us for interrupting your training, Lord Hiashi, but the Hokage has given us a mission in the Sand Village and Neji is to come along," Kakashi said to Hiashi.

While the adults talked I kept my eyes focused intently on the ground. Neji knew almost immediately what was wrong and he went to grab his shirt from where he'd left it lying on the steps. Hiashi who must have raised his eyebrow curiously did not miss this movement.

"It bothers Kiko," Neji said by way of explanation.

"I don't think bothered is the right word," I murmured, blushing furiously. I looked up once Neji had his shirt on and I could see he was blushing as well. Kakashi and Hiashi shared a knowing look.

"Hormones," they said simultaneously, and Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"And I'm stuck with the two of them for this entire mission," he grumbled.

"You have my sympathies," Hiashi said, unable to suppress a small laugh. I was getting annoyed and I think Neji was, too. You never know- it's hard to tell what Neji's thinking.

We were on the road to the sand village less than an hour later. I had Isamu tucked safely away in my backpack and I was feeling quite cheerful.

"So who's leading this mission anyway?" I asked.

"Who do you _think _the Squad Leader is, Shrimp?" Kakashi replied, shoving me playfully. I lost my footing for a moment and stumbled before pushing him back. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Neji smiling.

We stopped for the night at the edge of the forest with nothing but miles and miles of desert in front of us. We made a small camp a little ways off the main road. It was too cold out to sleep outside so Kakashi set up one of the lightweight tents. There was a river not too far from where we'd put up camp and a little while after sundown Neji disappeared to go bathe there.

I waited a few minutes before trying to slip off silently after him, but Kakashi noticed me leaving.

"Where are you going?" he asked curiously.

"Erm…"

I couldn't think of a good enough explanation that would satisfy him.

"I can't think of a good lie and the truth would gross you out so, for your own sake, I'm going to say nothing and disappear mysteriously into the night," I said, wiggling my fingers mysteriously for effect.

"Fair enough…I think," Kakashi replied with a puzzled frown.

I found my way to the river by the light of the moon. I had resigned myself to the fact that I wanted to see him without a shirt on again. The image had stayed fresh in my mind all day long. I had also resigned myself to a Jiraiya-like method of hiding in the bushes.


	17. Chapter 17 Swimming

**Chapter 17 **_**(Swimming)**_

He was swimming in the river, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts. My mouth went dry when he climbed out of the river, dripping wet. He pushed his soaking wet hair out of his face and frowned slightly before diving spectacularly back into the river. I watched him swim for about five minutes before he climbed out again.

"You know that I know you're there, right?" he said loudly. I froze for a full minute and felt myself turn beat red. Avoiding his eyes I came out of the bushes.

"You talkin' to me?" I mumbled.

"There's no one _else _hiding in those bushes, is there?"

"…How'd you know I was there?"

"Never spy on someone who has Byakugan," he said with a wry smile.

"I'll bear that in mind for future reference," I said sarcastically.

"…If you wanted to watch me swim you didn't have to hide in the bushes, Tsukiko," he said quietly.

"Yeah I did. It would've been too embarrassing if you'd known I was watching," I muttered.

"I knew you were there the whole time…I was showing off," he said with a smile, "You have nothing to be embarrassed about."

Again I had the thought that he was either the most egotistical guy in the world or the most understanding. This time I wasn't so sure it _was _the latter of the two.

"Will you _please _look at me," Neji said interrupting my thoughts. I blushed again and looked up. For the first time ever I noticed the curse seal on his forehead. I'd heard his story when he told it to Naruto during the Chunin exams. The curse seal had been placed on him because he was a member of the Branch Family instead of the Main Family of the Hyuuga clan. If he disrespected a member of the main family they could activate the curse seal and torture him.

"You're staring at my forehead, Kiko," Neji said calmly.

"Oh, sorry. I was looking at this," I said, brushing my finger lightly across the mark. He closed his eyes for a moment and shivered pleasantly.

"Do that again and you're going in the river," he said playfully. I smiled delightedly and, just to see if he was joking or not, brushed the mark again. I let out a yelp as he scooped me up in his arms, carried me to the water's edge, and tossed me into the river.

The water was cold! I came up spluttering, gasping for breath. He stood on the bank laughing at me.

"Stop laughing at me, Neji, I'm _freezing_!" I exclaimed, teeth chattering.

He continued to laugh and, with a somewhat graceful leap, jumped into the water with me. He floated on his back freely. I was staring at him, but he didn't care.

"You know how I got the curse seal?" he asked casually.

"Yeah. I remember you telling Naruto at the Chunin exams," I replied softly.

"Then you know more about me than I do you. I don't really know anything about you other than you have a demon and Orochimaru wants you."

"There's not much more to me," I replied with a shrug.

"Of course there is! Obviously you live with Kakashi-sensei. Why, if you don't mind me asking?" he inquired curiously.

"Orochimaru killed my parents. They were trying to protect me from him," I admitted quietly.

"I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago," I said with a shrug, even though it really wasn't, "but it seems like whoever I stay with is in danger from Orochimaru."

"It's not your fault he wants to…kill you, I suppose?"

"Kill me, torture me, how should I know?"

"I wonder why he chose you to put the tiger-demon in?" he mused.

"I don't know. Maybe I was just the first child he saw."

"Maybe because you're psychic?" Neji suggested.

"I always assumed the psychic thing was demon related," I replied. My attention was drawn to his bare chest and I lost my train of thought for a moment. It took all of my willpower not to run my hands over his chest.

"Maybe you should ask Kakashi," he said.

"Ask Kakashi what?" I asked absently.

"If you were psychic before Orochimaru put that thing inside of you. I think that- _Are you even _trying _to listen to me_?" he demanded.

"Huh?"

He let out a heavy sigh and started to swim towards shore. I grabbed his arm.

"No, wait! I'm totally listening. You said…something about Kakashi and Orochimaru's thing," I said quickly. He laughed and shook his head.

"I thought you were freezing?" he teased lightly.

"Really? Must've been my imagination," I murmured.

"We really should get back to Kakashi," Neji said seriously.

"But I'm soaked! And you're…practically _naked_!" I said, letting my eyes wander again.

"My clothes are on the shore, genius," he said, tapping my forehead.

"Oh. Right," I said sheepishly, looking back up.

"Kakashi may be asleep, but if he's awake and asks why you're wet we'll tell him you fell in the river," he said smiling faintly.

"Okey-dokey."


	18. Chapter 18 the Sandstorm

**Chapter 18 **_**(The Sandstorm)**_

Kakashi was still awake when we returned to our camp. He was reading his book by the light of the fire. He looked up as we returned and raised an eyebrow at the fact that I was thoroughly soaked.

"Neji threw me in the river," I said cheerfully before he could ask. Neji cut his eyes at me.

"I thought we agreed to say you fell in?" he said coolly.

"And you did what? Jumped in and rescued me like 'a big strong man'?" I said in my best Scarlett O'hara impression. Neji let out a snort of laughter.

"Oh for gods' sake," Kakashi said, rolling his eyes, "I'm gonna go throw up now."

Neji and I both laughed as Kakashi got up and retreated into the tent.

A few minutes passed and Neji and I sat in front of the fire in comfortable silence. I wanted my clothes to dry before I went into the tent.

"Do you remember what we were talking about before you got…distracted?" Neji asked.

"Uh…me?" I guessed, and he nodded his head.

"You were telling me about your parents."

"Yuki and Kasumi."

"Yes. What was it like before…" he said, his voice trailing off into silence.

"Before Orochimaru killed them," I finished evenly. It was weird that I could talk so easily about this with Neji. It wasn't something I usually talked about, even with Kakashi. In fact, all the adults around me usually avoided the subject and I'd never felt like talking to any of the other kids. Still, maybe I could talk so openly with Neji because he was an orphan, too.

"Pretty much the same as living with Kakashi, I suppose. I had a lot of free range as far as doing whatever I wanted. No one's ever tried to tell me what I can or cannot do…well, besides Tsunade," I said quietly.

"And even when Tsunade tells you something you openly defy her," he added with a hint of admiration in his voice, "…you've never been a bird in a cage."

He subconsciously touched the curse seal on his forehead, which was now covered by his headband. I gave him a sympathetic look. Before his battle with Naruto during the Chunin exams, Neji had felt like he was trapped by the power of the Main Branch. The symbol on his forehead was that of a bird in a cage. I touched his hand a gently pushed it down, away from his curse seal.

"You're not a bird in a cage anymore, Neji," I whispered reassuringly, "You forge your own destiny."

"Thanks, Kiko. I'm glad I have a friend like you," he murmured softly. I blushed faintly.

"Thanks Neji…I'm glad you're my friend, too," I said.

"Oh give it a rest, you two!" shouted Kakashi from inside the tent, "I'm trying to sleep!"

"Shut up, Kakashi!" I growled, still blushing. Neji laughed quietly and we both headed into the tent. All the sleeping bags were laid out so that it was like one big pallet. Kakashi made a briefly annoyed noise and turned his back on us.

I woke up sometime during the night to find myself spooning with someone I automatically assumed was Neji. Hell, that's whom I'd been dreaming about before I woke up. I pressed my face into his back and sighed.

"Get the hell off me, Tsukiko! Your boyfriend's on your other side," he grumbled. It was Kakashi!

"Shit! Sorry," I mumbled sheepishly as I scooted away from him.

"No problem. I know I'm irresistible," he replied with a grin. I punched him in the shoulder, a little harder than I usually would have.

"Ow!" Kakashi protested.

"What's going on?" asked a new voice sleepily. Neji had been awakened by our interaction.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep," I murmured to him. I rolled away from Kakashi and snuggled up close to Neji. He seemed faintly surprised, in a sleepy sort of way, but didn't pull away from me. We were both asleep within minutes.

The next morning we left our little camp and, after filling our canteens at the river, followed the road into the desert.

"From this moment on you will be Chouko," Kakashi said to me as we crossed into the desert.

"Should I have a last name, too?" I inquired.

"You could use Hyuuga," Neji said almost instantly.

Kakashi frowned at him as I blushed deeply.

"Oh like it wouldn't be blatantly obvious that you two aren't related, the way you act around each other…and the lack of vivid white eyes," Kakashi said.

"I suppose you'd rather use _your _last name then?" Neji shot back with a hint of sharpness in his voice. Kakashi flushed scarlet.

"I never said that!" he retorted. I stared blankly at the two people I loved most in the world. Were they fighting over me?

"Let Chouko deicide then," Neji said. Beneath his calm exterior his voice sounded like ice. I looked at the ground.

"I think they're both a little too inauspicious. Maybe a made up one would be better," I said quietly, "Personally I like the name Chouko Aimi."

"A very good decision," Neji approved.

"Excellent," Kakashi added, not wishing to be outdone. I let out an exasperated groan that sounded more like a growl and walked quicker to get away from them.

A while later they both caught up with me. Kakashi had reverted to reading his novel as he walked and Neji was looking around the desert with his Byakugan. I wondered vaguely what he was doing that for. I never considered the possibility of a threat until he grabbed my arm suddenly.

"We're being followed," he whispered, loud enough for Kakashi and I both to hear.

"Where? I didn't notice anything with my Sharingan," Kakashi said with no hint of his former animosity.

"To the West. It…well it looks like a child," Neji replied uncertainly. I looked Westward with my dull, normal vision and saw nothing…except some sort of a cloud. It got closer and closer, whirling faster and faster, until I realized what it was- a sandstorm!

It was on top of us before I could say anything. The winds were hectic and I couldn't see anything. My backpack was wrenched from my grip by the wind and all my stuff went flying. I opened my mouth to yell, but ended up with a mouthful of sand. Blind and gagging I reached out and latched on to the first thing I felt.

"Chouko is that you?"

It was Neji I had grabbed. He couldn't see me anymore than I could see him.

"Yes!" I called back.

"This sand is infused with Chakra," he informed me. Infused with Chakra? So I could fight it off! Without letting go of Neji I flared Chakra from all of my Chakra points except the ones in the hand that was latched on to Neji.


	19. Chapter 19 Isamu

**Chapter 19 **_**(Isamu)**_

The sandstorm didn't last long. When it was over we found Kakashi crouching behind a rock reading his novel. Go figure. He stood up when he saw us.

"Someone did that deliberately," he declared.

"There was Chakra in it. I'd say so," Neji agreed.

"Damn. Are you alright, Tsukiko?" Kakashi asked, looking me over anxiously.

"You must call me Chouko. Yes, I'm fine. My backpack is gone though," I replied, looking around. Some of my things could be seen lying in the sand.

"We'll find them," he assured me.

It took us almost 45 minutes but we collected almost all of my possessions. The only thing still missing was-

"Isamu?" I said, trying to keep the hysteria out of my voice.

"We…couldn't find him, Chouko," Neji said gently. My heart plummeted. No Isamu? But…without Isamu I never would have become a ninja. I remembered the day I had my first match…

_I had been ten years old, barely an Academy Graduate and Kakashi had, with my permission, arranged a battle for me. It was to be between myself and a ninja from the Cloud Village. I'd been extremely nervous, despite Kakashi's confidence in my abilities. The morning of the match I confided my fears in Isamu. This was back when I pretended he talked back to me. In my mind Isamu had reassured me, telling me how great a ninja I was._

"_I wish…I wish mom and dad were here," I had said to Isamu, tears welling up in my eyes. Isamu wiped them away with his paws._

"_They're watching you from heaven," the stuffed lion had assured me, "They're proud and they would never, ever let you get hurt. Besides, you still have Uncle Kakashi. He has a good heart. He loves you and he would never let anything bad happen to you, either."_

My thoughts returned to real time and I let out a strangled, half-sob. Strange that Isamu had always sounded smarter than me, in my mind.

"It'll be okay Chouko," Kakashi said.

"No. I need Isamu," I insisted, "He's my strength and courage."

"He's just a toy. You're not a kid anymore, Chouko," he said with a faint hint of irritability in his voice. Tears welled up in my eyes and I ran away from Kakashi, running blindly into the desert.

A few minutes later Neji found me sitting on a rock, lost and staring at the ground. I wasn't crying anymore but Kakashi's words had cut me deeply.

"I'm sorry he said that, Chouko. He doesn't understand," Neji said quietly.

"Do you?"

"To an extent, yes."

"I want my Isamu," I said, biting my lip to keep from crying.

"I know…but we need to get to the Village. We can come back and find him another time, okay?"

"…Okay. My head hurts."

"Because of the sunlight. It hurts your eyes more than you realize."

"Oh," I said and hesitated a moment before asking, "Where's Kakashi?"

"He went on ahead to the Sand Village. We'll catch up with him later," he replied smoothly.

"Cool."

When Neji and I reached the gates to the Sand Village there were four ninja waiting to welcome us. Three of them I had seen before- Kankuro, Temari, and the ever-frightening Gaara. All had competed in the Chunin Exams before and were often found hanging around the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Temari was a blonde-haired girl who fought with a giant fan. She had a spunky attitude and absolutely hated to lose. She had frequent run-ins with my friend, Shikamaru. I wasn't the only one who suspected they were secretly dating.

Kankuro…well, personally, I'd always thought he was a little weird. He was a puppet master. He fought only with puppets and for some reason he always wore face paint. This always made him a little weird in my eyes.

Gaara. Gaara fought with sand…or should I say sand fights for him? Gaara was the human host for the one-tailed demon, Shukaku. He was pretty messed up in the head, no doubt about that, but I sort of felt bad for him. He had been all alone and hated… Shukaku had made him strong, no doubt…but it had also turned him into a cold-blooded killer. He eventually found a new purpose for living, however, and that was protecting his friends, who were also his siblings, Kankuro and Temari.

The fourth girl was one I didn't know…but I think I'd seen her at the Chunin Exams before. She had dark red hair and vivid blue eyes. Her face was freckled. She wore a dark red dress that had a split up the side. I also noticed that Kankuro seemed quite taken with her and, since they were holding hands, I assumed they were dating.

"Well well. If it isn't the Leaf ninja. About time you two showed up," Temari said, smirking.

"Hey Temari. We were delayed. There was a sandstorm in the desert," I replied.

"Yeah that's what Kakashi said when he came through earlier. He also told us about your new name…Chouko," Kankuro said, smiling at us faintly.

Gaara hadn't said anything but I could feel his eyes on me. I glanced at him and found myself held captive by his pale blue eyes. There was a coldness there I had only seen once before- in the eyes of Orochimaru.

"So where is Kakashi?" Neji asked the others, oblivious to mine and Gaara's moment.

"He's already headed into the village," replied the girl I'd never seen before.

"Oh! Chouko, Neji, this is Mei. She lives in the village," Kankuro said to us, smiling at her. She smiled back.

"Nice to meet you," Neji said politely. My attention was still fixated on Gaara. His mouth had twisted into a small, odd sort-of smile that made me shiver. I wanted desperately to know what was going on in his mind. Maybe nothing at all…maybe something. He looked like he wanted to kill me, though I couldn't imagine why. His lips formed my name soundlessly and my breath caught in my throat.

"Chouko?" Neji said in an inquiring tone, "Do you want to go ahead to the hotel room? You need to get out of the sun."

"Sure. Let's go," I said, feeling slightly relieved for an excuse to get away from Gaara.

Temari, Kankuro, Mei, and Gaara led us to the room where we'd be staying. There were three bedrooms and Kakashi was already in one of them.

"We'll let you get settled in. We'll meet with you first thing in the morning to tell you what we know so far," Kankuro said to Neji and myself.

"Thank you Kankuro," Neji said, inclining his head.

Later that evening I was in the room I had claimed. I was pondering the stare of Gaara when someone knocked on my door, making me jump slightly.

"Come in," I said softly. The door was opened and Neji walked in.

"I thought that, since you don't have Isamu, you might like for me to stay with you…to help you sleep," he said with an awkward smile.

"S-sure," I murmured, blushing faintly, "If you want to, that is."

"Of course I do."

It took me forever to get to sleep that night and when I did I woke a short while later from a series of frightening nightmares I couldn't remember. I sat up slowly, pushing my hair out of my face as I did so.

"What's wrong, Chouko?" Neji muttered sleepily.

"Just a bad dream…I think I'm going to go outside for a minute to get some fresh air."

"Should I come along?"

"No, I'll be fine. I am a ninja after all. You go back to sleep," I said with a faint smile.

"Okay. Good night, Chouko."

"G'night Neji."


	20. Chapter 20 Isamu's Return

**Chapter 20 **_**(Isamu's return)**_

I left the hotel silently and began to walk through the deserted streets. It was past midnight and no one was awake…at least, that's what I thought until I saw the dark figure of a person standing on a rooftop. The figure beckoned to me and, although every fiber of my being was screaming 'danger', I leapt onto the roof with a single, graceful bound. I could now see the figure clearly- it was Gaara.

"You should be sleeping, Chouko," he said slowly. His voice was low, creepy, and monotonous…but it also sounded a little sad, to me.

"I can't sleep," I murmured shakily.

"Because of your demon?"

"How did you know-"

"That is why I am unable to sleep. The demon inside of me is beyond my control if I let my guard down," he continued on as if I hadn't spoken. I shuddered slightly.

"My demon…the five-tailed tiger demon…she doesn't do that," I stammered.

"It's female?"

"Yes."

"Can you use her power?"

I considered my answer before responding.

"I can…but I don't. The last time I did I…I hurt someone very dear to me," I said softly. He nodded in understanding. For a moment neither of us said anything, then he walked closer to me and pulled something out of a pack on his back.

"I believe this is yours," he said, holding it out to me. It was Isamu.

"Isamu!" I cried joyfully, hugging the lion to my chest, "Where did you find him?"

"In the desert. The sand brought him to me."

"Thank you, Gaara."

He looked up at me with the same fire in his eyes that I had seen before. I took a stumbling step backwards and a slight frown creased his forehead.

"Why are you afraid of me, Chouko?" he asked quietly.

"Because…that look in your eye…like you want to kill me," I murmured, abashed.

"Kill you? No, never kill you…you're not that good at reading facial expressions are you?"

"I suppose not. What is the emotion behind your eyes, then?" I inquired. The twisted smile returned and a hungry gleam shone in his eyes.

"I'll show you," he whispered.

The next thing I knew my back was pressed against a statue of a giant fish, the symbol of the Sand Village, and Gaara was inches away from me. My breath caught in my throat as he slipped his hands around my wait slowly. He pressed his lips against mine, clearly being dominant. My mind was practically numb. I couldn't have pulled away even if I wanted to…but I didn't want to anyway. Neji and I had never kissed before. I'd never kissed _anyone _before, as a matter of fact, but I didn't think it could get any better.

Gaara finally pulled away from me, smirking slightly. I felt my knees go weak and I sank to the ground.

"How's that for an explanation?" he inquired. His voice wasn't any less creepy or monotonous than it had been before, but it sounded a little less sad.

"Well you've certainly given me a lot to think about," I said, my voice an octave higher than usual.

"It's a good thing you couldn't sleep anyway. Later Chouko," he said, and then walked away.

I spent the rest of the night alone. Unable to return to the hotel room and face Neji and not trusting myself enough to seek out Gaara, I spent the night wandering and wondering. Did I like Gaara? Yes, in a weird, frightened sort of pitiful way. Neji had never made any advances towards me…we'd never even kissed. Many people thought we were together but we _weren't_. He probably didn't even like me!

When I finally returned to the hotel room Kakashi was the only one awake. He was in the kitchen cooking breakfast and he raised a curious eyebrow when I entered.

"Where have you been?" he asked curiously.

"Out," I replied, stifling a yawn.

"All night?" he asked, perplexed, "And without Neji?"

"Yeah…so?" I said, eyes narrowed, "It's not like we're _dating _or anything."

His expression was a puzzled one and he opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment Neji came out of the room.

"Good morning, Chouko. I never heard you come home last night. Where'd you go?" he asked. I smiled and held up Isamu by the paw.

"You found your lion! …You went out into the desert at night? _Alone_?" he asked, suddenly alarmed.

"Yeah. It was no big deal," I said with a shrug, "Besides, I _needed _Isamu."

Neji looked torn between disapproval that I'd gone off on my own and the desire not to start any arguments. Isamu saved him from either option.

"He's not even ripped or dirty at all," Neji said, inspecting the lion. Of course Isamu wasn't dirty- all the sand had followed Gaara away last night.

After eating the breakfast that Kakashi had prepared the three of us went to meet with the Sand ninja to find out what they knew about Orochimaru's spies. We met them in a conference room of sorts. It was a safe place where no one could eavesdrop on us.

As soon as we entered the room my heart stopped briefly. Gaara stood in the shadows, leaning against the wall in a would-be casual way. Temari, Kankuro, and Mei sat around a small round table. Neji and Kakashi both sat down, leaving the only available seat to be the one facing Gaara. He smirked at me as I sat down and I felt my face turn red.

I only halfway listened as Temari explained that they were pretty sure Orochimaru had three spies in the area. One they thought was a shopkeeper in the village. Another was posing as a teacher at the Academy. They had no idea who the third one was.

After that my mind pretty much went away from the conversation. Gaara, moving as inconspicuously as possible, came to stand directly behind me. No one even noticed. A few minutes later he slipped a note into my hand. As I read it he made his way back to his original spot.

_Meet me by the gate if you can get_

_Away from your friends for a little while._

I looked up at him and nodded. I folded up the note and put it in my pocket.

When we left the conference room I started to walk away from Kakashi and Neji. This did not go unnoticed by them.

"Where are you going, Chouko?" Kakashi asked making me stop in my tracks. I considered my answer.

"I can't think of a good enough lie and the truth would gross you out so, for your own sake, I'm going to say nothing and disappear mysteriously for a while," I said, getting the feeling that I was quoting myself. Kakashi sent a curious look at Neji, but when he saw Neji looked just as confused as he did he turned his gaze back on me.

"That's usually a line you reserve for sneaking off with him," Kakashi said, nodding to Neji. I shrugged my shoulders and proceeded to walk away. Neji snagged my arm.

"I don't like the idea of you going off on your own, especially with all the spies around," he said quietly.

"Well I won't _be _alone, if that eases your concern," I snapped. I hadn't meant to sound so cold and I regretted it immediately. A look of hurt realization spread over his face and he let go of my arm. I turned my face away and fled. Neither of them tried to follow me.


	21. Chapter 21 The Demons

**Chapter 21 **_**(The Demons)**_

I met Gaara just outside the gates to the village. Before I could even ask why I was there he kissed me fiercely. All thoughts of Neji drifted out of my mind.

"That was maddening," he murmured, "Being so close to you with _him _there."

He kissed me again.

Deep within me something stirred and I heard the voice of the five-tailed tiger demon in my head.

"_This looks like fun," _purred the tiger. _No, tiger, _I thought furiously, but I was ignored. I felt all the strength of the tiger fill me, along with an intense joy and playfulness. The energy that radiated from me made Gaara take a step back.

"Wha-?" he began, but was cut off as a similar energy filled him. I assumed this was Shukaku's Chakra- a dark, lethal-looking, reddish brown Chakra.

"What's happening? This…isn't…normal," Gaara said through clenched teeth.

"_He thinks Shukaku will hurt him. Tell him to stop fighting. The raccoon-demon just wants me," _said the voice of the tiger in my head. I laughed lightly.

"Don't fight him, Gaara. I think you'll find Shukaku has become quite tame," I said. It didn't occur to me that listening to and trusting a demon might not be a smart thing to do. Gaara stopped fighting and Shukaku's energy filled him.

"Unbelievable! Why-?"

"I'll explain later. Run with me," I encouraged. This time my voice held the alluring timbre of the tiger demon.

I ran without even thinking about it. The tiger within me was enjoying the freedom that I'd finally given her. Behind us Gaara, still amazed, ran instinctively on the power of Shukaku. They were slower than us. This time it was entirely the demon that spoke through me.

"_Come on, Shukaku,_" she said cheerfully.

"_Slow down, Kouta,_" said a voice that must have been Shukaku's.

"Who's Kouta?" I wondered vaguely.

"_I am Kouta you silly girl," _said the tiger lightly.

"Oh. I didn't know you had a name. You never told me that," I responded.

"_You never asked,"_ she replied.

We ran through the desert for a long time. It could have been days, months, or years…there seemed to be no limit to the strength of the demons. Eventually we stopped at an oasis and Kouta and Shukaku returned to their separate, dormant, places.

"Shukaku has never been that way before. Never so calm…so manageable," Gaara, said, the amazement still in his voice.

"I know. It was because of Kouta, I think," I said slowly.

"That is the tiger's name?"

"Yes."

"Then she is rightfully named so. 'Kouta' means peace. She made Shukaku…peaceful. Usually I must be asleep for him to control me," he said quietly.

"It _is _amazing," I agreed, "…I'm glad I didn't hurt anyone this time."

"Nor did I. Who did you hurt last time?"

"…I hurt Neji," I whispered painfully. Just saying has name brought to mind the look of hurt I'd seen on his face a few hours earlier. My distress was evident because Gaara walked over to me.

"I shouldn't have asked. I've upset you. I'm…sorry," he said awkwardly. He put his arms around me and kissed me.

"Holy Cow!" said a voice. We broke apart and looked up to see Mei and Kankuro approaching us. Gaara and I both had to fight back the demons that had been reawakened by the kiss.

"I didn't know you two were like _that_," Mei continued, eyes wide. Gaara didn't say anything and neither did I. He was harnessing his demon whereas I just didn't want to say anything.

"Scram you two, this is _our _make-out spot," Kankuro said with a hint of humor. Gaara took my hand suddenly, almost desperately, and led me away.

"They're both sort of creepy," I heard Mei remark when they thought we couldn't hear them anymore.

"Gaara's always been like that," Kankuro replied, "I don't know what the story is behind that Chouko kid, but it can't be a good one."

When we were far enough away Gaara and I both let the demons go. Shukaku and Kouta both took control of us to have a conversation.

"_We could go back and kill them,_" Shukaku suggested.

"_No, Shukaku. They're only children. Besides, I think I am ready to go back to the village now," _Kouta replied. Gaara and I both sighed in relief. Kankuro and Mei had no idea how close they'd almost come to being lunchmeat for demons.

"_Come on, Shukaku, I'll race you," _Kouta said playfully.

When I returned to the hotel Kakashi and Neji both sat on the couch. Kakashi was bandaging a wound on Neji's back. They both surveyed me silently when I walked in.

"What happened to your back?" I asked, trying to sound unconcerned.

"One of Orochimaru's spies recognized me as a Leaf ninja and attacked. We fought. I won. The Sand ninja have him now. The only people who know are those who are in on the mission. We feel certain that the other spies don't know what happened," he informed me.

"I was gone a long time wasn't I?" I said wondrously.

"Three hours," Kakashi provided. Without saying anything more I went to my room and shut the door.

"I wonder where she went for three hours," Neji said, unaware that I was listening.

"And who she was with," Kakashi added dryly.

"You could have followed her."

There was a stunned silence.

"Do you know what she would do to me if she caught me spying on her? Especially if she has a boyf-" the word died on Kakashi's lips. The intense silence that followed made me uncomfortable. I was exhausted. It felt like weeks since I'd had a good night's sleep. I collapsed onto the bed with a yawn and fell asleep almost instantly.


	22. Chapter 22 The Special Place

**Chapter 22 **_**(The Special Place)**_

I awoke later that night…or maybe it was early the next morning, seeing as it like an hour before sunrise. I was alone in my room, apart from Isamu, but I soon found what had awakened me. Someone was knocking at my window! I made my way to the window groggily and opened the curtains. Gaara stood outside with a familiar smirk on his face. I opened the window.

"Wake up," he said coolly.

"I am awake. What do you want?" I inquired, partially annoyed that he had interrupted my sleep.

"Good. Get dressed and come with me," he said, ignoring my question.

"Alright. Wait there while I get dressed."

I closed the curtains and quickly dressed in black jeans and a black T-shirt. I opened the curtains again. Gaara hadn't moved an inch. I climbed out the window and he greeted me with a breathtaking kiss.

"It's difficult being away from you for so long," he murmured quietly. I blushed faintly as he took my hand and we began to walk.

"How long were you outside my window?" I inquired curiously.

"A few hours," he admitted.

"Geez, Gaara, that's kinda creepy," I said, shivering slightly.

"An adjective I've become accustomed to," he replied with a wry smile. I laughed slightly.

"So where are we going?" I asked as we walked towards the Gates to the Village.

"A special place."

"What sort of special place?" I prodded.

"You'll see when we get there," was his reply.

The sky was just starting to get a slightly lighter shade of purple when I saw we had come to a large plateau-type rock. Gaara climbed up and then helped me up as well. The rock was smooth, almost as if it had been weathered by salt water. Gaara sat down cross-legged, facing east. I did the same. Within moments the sun had burst over the horizon in a glorious array of all shades. We were silent as we watched in awe.

"That was amazing!" I said in barely more than a whisper, once the sky had turned blue.

"I thought you would enjoy that," he murmured softly, "Shall we go back to the village now? I wouldn't want you to get sun-burned."

I nodded my head wordlessly.

As we approached the gates a curious sight met our eyes. Two men were fleeing the village with a group of ninja chasing after them. Neji and Kakashi were amongst this group of ninja.

"Those must be the spies," Gaara said tonelessly.

"We should help," I said, and we took off running.

Even as we ran I saw one of the ninja grab something out of a pouch at his waist. It was a Shuriken. He tossed it at Neji and my heart stopped momentarily. Kouta's strength flooded through me, unbidden, and I reached the spies within seconds…but I couldn't stop! I couldn't reign the tiger in and she reached out with her Chakra claws and grabbed the two spies. Everyone stared in transfixed horror as she squeezed the life out of the two spies… then they lay limp and motionless on the ground. I couldn't move. My body wouldn't obey my mind. Whispers broke out among the crowd that had gathered. Neji, who had avoided the Shuriken, walked over to me with his arms outstretched. He looked so comforting, as if I could bury my face in his chest and forget about the world. But another presence behind me kept me from doing so. Gaara had caught up with me. The sand swirled around him as he slipped a possessive protective arm around my waist. Neji let his arms fall, a look of hurt confusion spread across his face.

I could hear the accusing whispers of the crowd. They talked about me and they talked about Gaara, but the one word that echoes through the crowd was the word 'demons'. I felt Kouta stirring within me.

"Gaara…help me…" I whispered fearfully.

"I'll get you out of here," he promised. The sand swirled around us and I felt the Earth move beneath my feet, but I stayed standing.

When I opened my eyes we were far away from the village and the crowd and the people Kouta had killed…I had _killed!_ Realization crashed over me like a wave of cold water. I was a murderer.

"Chouko, are you okay?" Gaara asked cautiously.

"I killed," I said numbly, "I murdered them."

"They were bad people," he said reasonably, "And you couldn't help it. As long as you don't obsess over it…I think _you'll _be okay. Learn from my mistakes."

I stared at him slowly.

"Kiss me, Gaara," I murmured.

"What?" he asked uncertainly.

"I don't want to have to think right now. Kiss me. Distract me. Somehow…" I said desperately.

"If you are certain…" he said, walking closer to me. His lips pressed against mine and liquid fire shot through me, replacing confusion and pain with passion and desire. My hands clutched the front of his shirt madly. His arms were wrapped around me tightly, refusing to let me go, crushing me to him. My mind was humming pleasantly, all bad thought forgotten…for now. I knew there was something dark looming in the very back of my mind, but I didn't want to face whatever it was, at least not for a few hours. I fought for dominance and won quickly, pushing Gaara on the ground. His eyes widened as my hands wandered down, away from his chest.

"What? No, Chouko…I can't," he murmured, grabbing my hand.

"Hmm…why not?" I asked. Every second wasted talking, my mind was becoming clearer, the unwanted memory coming closer.

"It would be wrong. I would be taking advantage of you," he whispered painfully.

"I want this. I need this," I murmured, kissing him again. Shukaku and Kouta burst forth, lured by our passion, which intensified with their presence. They both wanted it as much as I did. Gaara was the only one who seemed reluctant and now he was having to fight Shukaku as well.

"_don't make me hurt you,"_ said Kouta in her sugary sweet voice. Gaara hesitated.

"Chouko?" he asked anxiously.

"Do it, Gaara," I whispered in his ear. I kissed him again. That was all the incentive he needed to flip me over on my back and run his hands under my shirt.

"I thought you didn't want to?" I teased playfully.

"I never said I didn't _want _to…every second of every day since the first day I saw you. You'll let me know if I hurt you? I…I've never done this before," he admitted quietly.

"Nor have I…and you could never hurt me, Gaara," I murmured. We kissed again and then the demons took over.


	23. Chapter 23 Tangled Knots

**Chapter 23 **_**(Tangled knots)**_

When I returned to the Village a few hours later I didn't care that everyone was staring at me. I didn't care that my hair was messed up or my clothes were rumpled. I didn't care about anything…until I returned to the hotel room to find Neji lying on the couch, staring pointlessly at the ceiling. He glanced at me when I entered and took in my appearance. The look of hurt had been replaced by a look of cold indifference. I turned my face away, regretting what had just happened.

"Where is Kakashi?" I asked without looking at him.

"No idea," he replied bitterly. I bit my lip as I went to my room.

That night when I awoke from a nightmare I was crying. I knew it wasn't a psychic vision thing, but it had still upset me. I went and knocked on Neji's door.

"…What?" he asked irritably. The sharpness of his tone made me recoil slightly.

"I…I h-had a nightmare," I stammered anxiously.

"So go find Gaara," he retorted coldly. I retreated to my room with tears in my eyes. I stood there a moment before going into the living room where Kakashi sat on the couch, reading a novel.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking up from his book.

"I had a bad dream," I murmured quietly, sitting down beside him, "…and Neji was really mean to me."

"I don't blame him," he replied airily, "you left him for Gaara."

"I did not," I protested, "Neji never made a move on me. Besides, Gaara and I… connect. In a special way."

"You sound like every other love-sick teenager in the world," Kakashi said, rolling his eyes, "It's obvious to me that Neji loves you. In fact it's rather sickening. I don't like to think of anyone being in love with you."

His words stunned me. Neji loved me? But he'd never done or said anything!…had he?

"I'm so confused," I said, dismayed, "How do I choose between them?"

"Which one do you l-…feel the most affection for?"

"I don't know."

A moment of silence passed and Kakashi sighed heavily.

"I can't help you, Tsukiko. My words would only make you more confused, so I'm going to take a leaf out of your book and say nothing as I disappear mysteriously…only you'll have to do the disappearing because I'm trying to read," he said with a smile. I laughed quietly.

"I think I'll go for a walk. I need to clear my head and reconsider some things," I murmured quietly.

"Good luck."

It was pretty late at night and the streets were practically empty as I wandered aimlessly. I didn't expect to see anyone and almost fell over when Mei simply popped out of nowhere in front of me.

"Hey Chouko. Did I scare you?" she asked with a grin.

"Yeah, you did," I admitted.

"Cool! So, what are you doing? Going to meet Gaara?" she asked slyly.

"No…I have a predicament and my mind is a tangled web of knots."

"Talk to me. Maybe I can offer some feedback and help you to untangle some of those knots," she said brightly.

I explained my Neji/Gaara situation and Mei listened intently without interrupting. When I was finished explaining she looked thoughtful.

"I think you should date Neji," she said swiftly.

"Why?" I asked, surprised she had come to a decision so quickly.

"Because Gaara is creepy. Plus you've already had time with him. I think Neji deserves a chance. Besides, if you break up with Neji you can always come back to Gaara. It's not like he'll get taken by anyone else, but Neji…well he won't be around forever," she replied with a smile.

"Wait a minute, what's that supposed to mean you little freckled hobgoblin? You're not trying to steal Neji are you?" I demanded.

"No! And I'm not a little hobgoblin," she protested, "I'm taller than you are!"

"Whatever," I said with a faint smile, "I'll see you later, okay Hobgoblin? I've got some more thinking to do."

"I'm not a Hobgoblin!"

I smiled again and left her standing in the street.

I went to Gaara's sunrise place to think and by the time he got there I had made my decision. He sat down beside me and I rested my head on his shoulder sleepily.

"I'm sorry, Kiko," he murmured softly.

"About what?" I asked, startled by the sudden use of my regular name. I guess my name didn't matter now that Orochimaru's spies were gone.

"What happened yesterday…shouldn't have happened."

"But it did and I don't regret it," I said smoothly, "Now shut up and watch the sunrise with me."

I saw him smile slightly.

After the sun had risen, which was just as magnificent as ever, Gaara turned to face me.

"This is going to be our last sunrise isn't it?" he asked painfully, "I can hear the difference in your voice. You love _him_."

"Gaara I love _you _also…but I can't be with you," I said with a pained expression.

"I know. I don't want you to go but…I can't stop you. Shukaku won't fight Kouta. Just know…that I…I l-…I love you, Kiko. And I'll always be here if you need me," he said softly.

"I'm sorry Gaara," I said as I stood up. He was silent as I walked towards the edge of the plateau.

"Kiko?" he said suddenly. I turned to face him once more.

"Yes, Gaara?" I inquired curiously.

"Keep Neji out of dark alleys. Shukaku is not happy."

I couldn't conceal the shudder that followed, but I understood his warning. It wasn't a threat or a joke, but a simple fact. I nodded my head and left.

Neji was still locked in his room when I returned and Kakashi was asleep on the couch. I grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a note that made me smile.

Do you like Tsukiko Akane? (Check yes or no)

? Yes ? No

I slipped the note under Neji's door. There was a moment of silence and I heard him laugh softly. The note was slipped back out with the Yes box checked. My heart soared and I added another question.

Do you think Tsukiko Akane is an idiot for not realizing this sooner?

? Yes ? No

I slipped the note under his door and again I heard him laugh before returning it with the yes box checked. I quickly scribbled another question.

Will you open the door so Tsukiko Akane can come in and talk to you and stop referring to herself in the third person?

? Yes ? No

I slid it back to him and a moment passed before it was returned with the No checked. I frowned to myself and scribbled:

Why not?

A few moments passed and I heard the sound of a pen on paper before the note was returned a final time.

Because I don't have a shirt on

I laughed loudly and heard the lock click. I tried the doorknob and found it had been opened for me.

He was standing beside the door when I opened it and it was true that he didn't have a shirt on.

"So you broke up with demon boy?" he asked, ignoring the fact that I was looking at his muscles.

"…yeah…" I said absently, "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

"It was very hot last night when I went to sleep," he replied.

"Did you sleep without pants on too?" I asked before I could stop myself. Once I realized what I'd said I blushed and clamped a hand over my mouth. He shook his head slightly in disbelief and didn't honor me with a response.

"You did, didn't you? That's why you wouldn't let me in when I had a nightmare," I said. It was his turn to blush.

"I'm sorry, Kiko. I was angry. Was it just a dream?"

"Yes. I accept your apology…on one condition," I said, walking closer to him.

"What's your one condition?" he asked without moving. I was only inches away now. I leaned forward and his silver eyes widened in surprise as I kissed him. He responded almost instantly, pressing me against the wall, kissing me slowly and with so much passion I thought my heart would burst! Gaara had never _ever _kissed me like this before! Neji used his soft hands to distract me, running them over my skin lightly. My world spun suddenly and everything went dark.

When I came around I knew immediately what had happened. I opened my eyes to see Neji standing over me, eyes shinning with concern. I could also see Kakashi standing in the corner, shaking with silent laughter.

"You fainted," Neji said anxiously, "am I that bad of a kisser?"

"No, you're good. I…I forgot to breathe," I admitted sheepishly. Kakashi's silent laughter became audible and I shot him an irritated look.

"He heard you fall," Neji explained, "And when I told him what happened he started laughing and wouldn't stop."

"Shut up, Kakashi!" I growled venomously. He stopped laughing but continued to grin like an idiot.

"What'd I tell you about telling me to shut up, Shrimp?" he asked playfully.

"Don't call me Shrimp. Get out of here, now, Neji and I have things to do…I just have to remember to _breathe _this time," I said, pointing to the door. Kakashi looked disgusted.

"Well we're leaving today so don't do anything too time consuming," he grunted, then left the room.

"So, am I a better kisser than your Desert Rat?" Neji asked me. A spasm of pain passed over my face.

"Can you not talk about him…please?" I asked quietly.

"Of course, Kiko. Sorry," he said soothingly.

"…but you definitely are," I said with a smile. He smiled a smile that lit up the room- that lit up my whole world. I pressed my face into his chest as he embraced me and I knew for once that everything would be okay.


End file.
